The U.S. has filed a civil forfeiture complaint against $61 million in cryptocurrency that it alleges are proceeds from black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products.
The complaint, brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, alleges Tehran used a network of cryptocurrency actors in China and elsewhere to launder more than $1.5 billion in illicit oil money intended to benefit the Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"Today we are seizing and seeking to forfeit more than $61 million of the Government of Iran's money, which otherwise would have promoted hostile military action and terrorist attacks against the U.S. and our allies," Deputy U.S. Attorney Sean S. Buckley said in a statement.
Two Chinese companies, named Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, allegedly used trading accounts at the Binance crypto exchange "to launder the proceeds of black-market sales of Iranian oil, funneling the illicit funds to the Government of Iran, its agents, and/or its proxies, where they were used to finance terrorist and other activities of the Iranian government," the statement said.
A Binance spokesperson said the exchange "has zero tolerance for sanctions violations or illicit activity" and "did not permit any transactions with sanctioned individuals," adding it would continue cooperating with law enforcement and would "investigate, restrict or freeze accounts where appropriate, offboard users, and report to relevant authorities" where risk is identified.
According to the complaint, Blessed Trust represents itself as a wealth management or virtual asset custodial services firm but received and transferred the proceeds and provided "on-ramp" services allowing users to exchange fiat currency for cryptocurrencies, including through U.S.-based cryptocurrency issuers. Hexa Whale has provided similar services, working with Blessed Trust and its affiliates. "Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale have also used the U.S. financial system to send or receive tens of millions of dollars as part of this scheme," the complaint alleged. Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust could not be reached for comment by CNBC. Both companies' clients include companies in China's petroleum and petroleum products sector.
Tether Ltd. will "burn" the cryptocurrency tokens held in the target addresses and issue replacement tokens of the same value, which will be transferred into the custody of the U.S. government, the complaint said. Tether did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- In April, Washington sanctioned an independent or "teapot" refinery in China and warned financial institutions of possible sanctions for dealings with Chinese refineries processing Iranian oil.
- A Reuters report on Sept. 10 said Iran had used a barter-like arrangement to bypass sanctions on its oil sales and buy billions of dollars' worth of goods from China.
- China is reportedly one of the largest buyers of Iranian oil, accounting for more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil in 2025, or an average 1.4 million barrels per day.
Source: CNBC
