US sanctions BitBank crypto exchange over Iranian tanker tolls

The US Treasury has sanctioned the Tehran-based cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, alleging it was used to facilitate the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The exchange is accused of processing illegal ‘transit tolls’ collected from commercial tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

As part of ‘Operation Economic Outcast’, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also designated Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, the software firm that developed the exchange. The sanctions target the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, an Iranian entity that has been charging tankers between $1 million and $2 million for safe passage since June.

In addition to the corporate entities, the US has sanctioned three associates of Babak Zanjani: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari. The designations freeze any property within US jurisdiction and prohibit US persons from engaging in transactions with these parties. The move includes secondary sanctions, meaning foreign firms that continue to process BitBank’s flows risk facing US penalties.