The United States government has announced new restrictive measures targeting an organization facilitating the sale of Iranian petroleum through the use of digital currencies.
The focus is on two individuals from Iran, along with several businesses operating in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
A public statement from the US Department of the Treasury indicates that this group processed cryptocurrency transactions exceeding $100 million. These funds purportedly supported the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) of Iran.
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The transactions were obscured through the utilization of shell corporations, designed to mask the true source and destination of the financial assets.
Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand, both citizens of Iran, have been identified as the principal organizers. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) indicated that these individuals established and leveraged businesses in Hong Kong and the UAE to handle cryptocurrency associated with the export of petroleum.
These firms were used to create the appearance of legitimate transactions.
According to John K. Hurley, a high-ranking official at the Treasury, Iran depends on unconventional financial channels to circumvent sanctions and move funds across international borders.
He reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to continually target such networks, aiming to disrupt the funding sources for Iran’s military endeavors and activities within the region.
In related news, federal authorities in Massachusetts recently began legal proceedings to confiscate $584,741 in Tether