The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned an Iranian digital assets exchange and several affiliated individuals and entities accused of helping the Iranian regime evade sanctions and move funds to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, federal officials announced on Thursday.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted BitBank, a cryptocurrency venture it says is controlled by previously designated Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, along with the exchange’s developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company. The Treasury also designated three Zanjani associates: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari.
The action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on August 24 as “Economic D-Day.” The campaign aims to cut off financial channels supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“Today’s designations of Iranian digital asset infrastructure make perfectly clear that efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC’s reach,” Bessent said. “If you support the Iranian regime, the Department of the Treasury will sanction you.”
According to Treasury, Zanjani used BitBank between June and July of this year to move hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The previously designated Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority has also relied on BitBank since June to route payments to the Iranian regime, Treasury said.
The designations were issued under Executive Order 13902, which authorizes sanctions against Iran’s digital asset sector and other parts of its economy.
Zanjani’s Network
Zanjani was sentenced to death in Iran in 2016 for embezzling millions from the National Iranian Oil Company, which is also under OFAC designation. His sentence was commuted in 2024, and by 2025 he had publicly returned as a backer of regime-linked economic projects, according to Treasury.
Officials said Zanjani built a network of digital asset companies that has functioned both as public commercial ventures and as covert platforms for sanctions evasion. He has promoted BitBank on his social media accounts since at least 2024, and the exchange has been listed as a partner by several companies within his network, Treasury said.
Pishtaz Simorgh, which develops BitBank’s software, is a subsidiary of Dot One Value Creation Group, an entity previously sanctioned by OFAC. Both BitBank and Pishtaz Simorgh were designated for operating in Iran’s digital asset sector.
Treasury identified Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari as executives of Dot One. Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein has brokered digital asset transactions that ultimately reached the IRGC and has been involved in Iranian oil exports, officials said. Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein serves as a Dot One manager and as chief executive of Pishtaz Simorgh, while Heidari is vice chairman of Dot One’s board.
Sanctions Consequences
As a result of the action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons within U.S. jurisdiction are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Any entity owned 50% or more by one or more blocked persons is also blocked. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from transactions involving the designated parties unless authorized by OFAC.
Treasury warned that violations of U.S. sanctions can result in civil or criminal penalties and that foreign financial institutions engaging with designated persons may face secondary sanctions exposure.
