Iranian crypto firm Bitbank sanctioned

Funds from transit fees routed to Iranian regime

Hundreds of millions of dollars traced to Revolutionary Guard

Cuba nickel, military-linked firms and officials also targeted

Ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, in August. [Reuters]
Ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, in August. [Reuters]

The Trump administration has sanctioned a cryptocurrency firm used to channel funds collected from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to the Iranian regime, tightening its economic pressure campaign by cutting off yet another revenue stream Tehran had secured through the waterway.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Bitbank, a crypto firm led by already-sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, on Thursday (local time).

The Treasury said Bitbank had played a central role in Iran's sanctions-evasion infrastructure through digital assets and had transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Bitbank was particularly found to have routed funds to the Iranian regime from the "Hormuz Safe Maritime Services Authority," an entity Iran established to collect payments from ships in exchange for insurance and security services as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States had previously sanctioned the Hormuz Safe Maritime Services Authority itself. The latest action extends the sanctions net to the cryptocurrency firm that handled the financial flows connected to that entity.

Also designated were Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trading Company, the developer of Bitbank, along with three associates of Zanjani.

The move is part of what the Trump administration has described as an "economic isolation" campaign aimed at cutting Iran off from international financial, commercial and logistics networks. The action specifically targets cryptocurrency transactions that bypass conventional financial channels, focusing on closing off Iran's sanctions-evasion routes.

The Trump administration also announced additional sanctions Thursday against companies and military officials involved in Cuba's mineral resources and military modernization.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the designations cover 11 entities and individuals in total — four state-owned enterprises involved in generating revenue from Cuba's nickel resources, four military-linked firms engaged in research and development of weapons systems and battlefield simulation, and three military officials.

"We will not stand by while Cuban elites enrich themselves through resource extraction and stockpile resources for their repressive security apparatus while the Cuban people suffer in poverty," Rubio said.


sjy@heraldcorp.com