OFAC Cracks Down on Iranian Crypto Network Laundering $100M
Jessie A Ellis Sep 16, 2025 21:16
The U.S. Treasury's OFAC has sanctioned Iranian financial facilitators for laundering $100 million in oil proceeds through cryptocurrencies, impacting Iran's military funding.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on Iranian financial facilitators and their network of front companies, according to a report by Chainalysis. These entities have been accused of coordinating cryptocurrency transactions to benefit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and Iran’s Ministry of Defense.
Sanctioned Entities and Their Operations
OFAC's designation targets Iranian nationals Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand, who orchestrated the acquisition of over $100 million in cryptocurrency linked to Iranian oil sales between 2023 and 2025. The total inflow through the addresses involved in this network exceeds $600 million, underscoring the scale of operations conducted through a complex web of front companies across various jurisdictions.
This move highlights Iran's ongoing use of cryptocurrency to evade international sanctions through sophisticated shadow banking networks. The sanctioned network is similar in scale to other OFAC designations, such as Sa’id al-Jamal, a Houthi financier involved in laundering funds for the IRGC-QF.
Connections and Previous Sanctions
Arash Estaki Alivand maintained connections with previously designated entities, including facilitating transactions for the Al-Qatirji Company and working with Hezbollah-associated money changer Tawfiq Muhammad Sa’id al-Law. These operations provided Hezbollah with access to digital wallets for receiving proceeds from IRGC-QF commodity sales.
The Chainalysis Reactor graph illustrates the intricate network of financial facilitators and intermediaries employed by the IRGC-QF, involving interactions with mainstream Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges and entities like Israel’s National Bureau of Counter Terror Financing.
Challenges in Detecting Sanctions Evasion
The latest actions by OFAC reflect the growing sophistication of Iran’s sanctions evasion tactics, particularly through the use of cryptocurrency and international front companies. This designation is part of a broader strategy to disrupt Iran’s shadow banking infrastructure amid ongoing international pressure.
The complex nature of the network, which spans multiple jurisdictions and combines traditional front companies with cryptocurrency, presents significant challenges for authorities in detecting and disrupting these modern evasion schemes. Nonetheless, the transparency of blockchain technology offers unique opportunities to trace and dismantle such networks.
The designated cryptocurrency addresses are available on OFAC’s website. This action underscores the importance of continued vigilance and adaptation in the face of evolving financial crimes.
For further details, please refer to the original report by [Chainalysis](https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/ofac-sanctions-iranian-shadow-crypto-banking-network-september-2025/).
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