Overview
- OFAC designated Iranians Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand and front companies in Hong Kong and the UAE for moving over $100 million in cryptocurrency tied to oil sales since 2023.
- Treasury said the network funneled funds that benefited the IRGC‑Qods Force and Iran’s defense ministry, blocking assets and prohibiting U.S. dealings with the listed individuals and entities.
- Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing published 187 USDT addresses it says are IRGC property, noting historical inflows of roughly $1.5 billion and current balances near $1.5 million.
- Blockchain firm Elliptic reported it cannot verify IRGC ownership for all addresses and said some may be service wallets, while Tether has already blacklisted about 39 of the listed addresses.
- Recent related actions include a U.S. Justice Department seizure of $584,741 from an Iranian national tied to an IRGC drone program and a June hack that drained about $90 million from Iran’s Nobitex exchange.