US sanctions eight crypto firms accused of helping Iran evade curbs

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned eight digital asset service providers that it says help Iran's government evade sanctions and fund terrorism, the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

The firms exchange Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets, allowing Iran's government, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other sanctioned actors to move money into and out of the country, the statement said.

Several of the businesses sent funds to digital asset accounts linked to the Revolutionary Guard and other terrorist activity, the department said.

Many also dealt with Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges that Washington had already sanctioned, the statement said.

Some of the firms changed their names and addresses to avoid detection, and all of them kept operating despite public reporting on the risks they posed, the department said.

Several of the designated businesses also laundered proceeds from drug trafficking, which the department said shows how the same networks serve both Iran and criminal organizations.

The action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, a effort to cut off revenue that Iran uses to fund terrorism, weapons proliferation and proxies across the Middle East, the statement said.

The United States coordinated the move closely with Canada, including Canada's financial intelligence unit, FINTRAC, the department said.

The designations were imposed under an executive order that targets Iran's digital asset sector and other key sectors of its economy, the statement said.

The Revolutionary Guard has been under U.S. sanctions for years, and Washington earlier this year sanctioned Iranian digital asset exchanges that moved money for the government and the group.