The US government has announced new penalties aimed at a network involved in selling Iranian oil through digital currency channels.
Two individuals from Iran and several businesses based in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates are at the center of the action.
According to a press release by the US Treasury Department, this network transferred more than $100 million in cryptocurrency, with the proceeds supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).
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These transactions were concealed using a web of front companies, designed to hide the origin and destination of the funds.
Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand, both Iranian nationals, were identified as key coordinators. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) stated that they set up and used businesses in Hong Kong and the UAE to process the cryptocurrency tied to oil exports.
These companies were used to make the transactions appear legitimate.
A senior Treasury official, John K. Hurley, stated that Iran relies on alternative financial networks to work around sanctions and transfer money internationally.
He emphasized the US commitment to continue targeting such channels in order to disrupt the funding of Iran’s military programs and regional activities.
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