US Expands Sanctions on Iran’s Crypto Sector

On Monday the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued sectoral sanctions determinations that add digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping to the framework used to target Iran. The action included sanctions on nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels linked to Iran’s nuclear, missile, cyber and oil networks.

The Treasury alleged that Ukraine-born broker Ivan Obukhov, who operates from the United Arab Emirates, processed more than $100 million in cryptocurrency since 2023 to facilitate oil sales on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force. OFAC designated Obukhov and his UAE company, Foscom FZE, as part of the package.

Under the OFAC determination, any person found to be operating in Iran’s digital asset sector can be sanctioned under Executive Order 13902. The Treasury said designated parties’ U.S.-linked property must be blocked and that foreign banks that facilitate significant transactions for those parties could face restrictions on access to U.S. correspondent accounts.

The agency described cryptocurrencies as increasingly used by Iran as a “tool of choice for sanctions evasion,” including for transactions tied to the IRGC and government insiders. The sectoral designation follows a series of targeted actions earlier in the year against specific exchanges and wallets linked to Iran.

In January OFAC designated two U.K.-registered entities, Zedcex and Zedxion. On June 3 the Treasury sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges, including Nobitex, the country’s largest platform. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reported that the United States had seized nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency from Iranian exchanges and wallets. On Aug. 7 OFAC designated Shelbit and Aban Tether for allegedly facilitating about $5 million in digital assets connected to Iran.

Unlike previous designations that named specific platforms, the new sector-wide determination provides a legal basis to sanction any foreign individual or company judged to participate in or provide services to Iran’s digital asset sector. The Treasury said the measure “significantly expands” its ability to impose sanctions on those operating in the covered sectors.

The broader package announced Monday targeted actors across Iran’s nuclear, missile, cyber and oil networks. The Treasury framed the actions as intended to disrupt channels the U.S. government identifies as used to evade existing sanctions.