U.S. Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchange BitBank Over Sanctions-Evasion Network
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Iranian digital asset exchange BitBank on September 17, 2026, targeting what Treasury described as part of Iran’s cryptocurrency-based sanctions-evasion infrastructure.
The action also covers BitBank’s developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein and Seyed Adel Heidari.
According to Treasury, BitBank is controlled by Zanjani and has formed part of a wider network of digital asset businesses used to move funds outside conventional financial channels. Treasury said that since June, the previously designated Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority has used BitBank to transfer payments it received to the Iranian government.
Treasury further alleged that the infrastructure developed by Zanjani was used to launder funds and transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. BitBank has been promoted by Zanjani since at least 2024 and has appeared as a partner of other companies in his network, according to the U.S. authority.
OFAC made the designations under Executive Order 13902, which targets sectors of the Iranian economy and was expanded to cover Iran’s digital asset sector. The action forms part of Operation Economic Outcast, a broader U.S. sanctions campaign launched in August 2026 against Iranian revenue channels, sanctions-evasion arrangements and their facilitators.
The September 17 action follows earlier OFAC measures in January and July against digital asset entities and facilitators linked to Zanjani. Treasury said the latest designations are intended to reach both the exchange infrastructure and the people and companies supporting its operation.
As a result of the designations, property and interests in property of the designated persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Entities owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
