United States seeks seizure of $61 million in crypto linked to Iranian oil

The United States Department of Justice is seeking to seize more than $61 million in cryptocurrency linked to illegal Iranian oil sales designed to bypass international sanctions. According to court filings, these funds were moved through various crypto wallets to hide their origin.

Investigators allege that a much larger network is involved, claiming that over $1.5 billion in oil proceeds has been moved via cryptocurrency wallets. These funds are reportedly intended for the Iranian government and the Revolutionary Guard. The scheme allegedly utilized accounts at the Binance exchange through two entities, Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited, which presented themselves as a wealth management firm and a commodities broker, respectively.

The $61.1 million in USDT is currently held in ten wallets on the Tron network. While Tether had previously frozen these wallets, a U.S. judge has now granted the FBI permission to seize the assets. The U.S. government intends to have the funds permanently assigned to itself. Binance has not been accused of wrongdoing and stated that it cooperates with authorities to restrict or freeze transactions involving sanctioned individuals or illicit financing.