The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a cryptocurrency exchange linked to Babak Zanjani.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it has targeted the cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank, which Washington considers to be under the control of Babak Zanjani, as part of the Operation Economic Outcast campaign. The Treasury claims that Bitbank has been a part of Iran’s network to circumvent financial sanctions and that Babak Zanjani has used this platform to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Revolutionary Guard. The department also states that since June, an entity associated with collecting fees for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz has used Bitbank to transfer funds to Iran. In this sanctions package, the software developer Bitbank Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Commerce and three of Babak Zanjani’s associates were also sanctioned. Scott Bassett, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, said this action demonstrates that the use of cryptocurrency to finance Iran is not beyond the reach of U.S. sanctions and warned that Washington will continue to target financial networks linked to Iran.