OFAC sanctions individuals and organizations in Iran using Crypto to trade illegal oil

The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (#OFAC ), has announced sanctions against two Iranian individuals and over a dozen companies based in Hong Kong and the UAE. These sanctions target a secret financial network, accused of using cryptocurrency to launder over 100 million USD from illegal oil trading for terrorist organizations of #iran .

Crypto used in illegal activities

U.S. officials stated that this network used cryptocurrency as a "parallel channel" to transfer money quickly and secretly across borders, especially when traditional banks refuse suspicious transactions. According to OFAC, this network converted fiat money into stablecoins like USDT and $TRX , then transferred it through multiple layers of intermediary wallets to obscure the trail.

U.S. focuses on monitoring illegal Crypto activities

These sanctions indicate a shift in the U.S. strategy, directly targeting activities on the blockchain. OFAC has sent a clear message that digital transactions are increasingly becoming a focus of scrutiny. This not only reflects the deep penetration of digital assets into illegal activities but also shows that global regulators are enhancing their capabilities to combat the misuse of crypto for money laundering and terrorist financing. #anh_ba_cong