{"id":13253,"date":"2026-09-15T07:34:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T07:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13253"},"modified":"2026-09-15T07:34:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T07:34:27","slug":"us-moves-to-seize-61m-in-crypto-linked-to-sanctioned-iranian-oil-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13253","title":{"rendered":"US Moves to Seize $61M in Crypto Linked to Sanctioned Iranian Oil Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

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  • US prosecutors have filed a civil forfeiture case seeking roughly US$61 million in crypto allegedly linked to sanctioned Iranian oil sales.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Prosecutors allege Chinese firms and crypto wallets helped move and launder more than US$1.5 billion in illicit Iranian oil proceeds.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The funds allegedly flowed to Iran and IRGC-linked entities through a network designed to obscure their origin and ownership.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The case remains at the allegation stage, with a court ultimately deciding whether the US government can keep the funds.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Prosecutors in New York have launched a civil forfeiture case involving roughly US$61 million (AU$85.6 million) in cryptocurrency, alleging the funds trace back to black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil.<\/p>\n

    Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, working alongside the FBI\u2019s New York field office, filed a complaint alleging the money was destined to fund Iran\u2019s government and military \u2013 including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US designates as a terrorist organisation.<\/p>\n

    Deputy US Attorney Sean Buckley didn\u2019t mince words, saying the action shows America\u2019s resolve to deprive Iran and its proxies of the illegal money they rely on to threaten lives.<\/p>\n

    He pointed to Tehran\u2019s reliance on illicit oil sales to bankroll not just its military but also its nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions, alleging that a web of crypto operators in China and beyond helped launder over US$1.5 billion (AU$2.1 billion) in illicit oil proceeds.<\/p>\n

    Read also:<\/strong> <\/strong>Revolut Exposes Customer Data After Fraudsters Exploit Government Email Domain<\/strong><\/p>\n

    How the Scheme Allegedly Worked<\/h2>\n

    According to the complaint, two Chinese firms, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, used accounts on Binance, the UAE-based exchange, to move the illicit proceeds. Blessed Trust posed as a wealth management and custodial services outfit, while Hexa Whale presented itself as a commodities brokerage.<\/p>\n

    In reality, prosecutors allege both were funnelling oil proceeds to Iran and its proxies, with Blessed Trust also offering fiat-to-crypto on-ramps via US-based issuers. Their client base reportedly included companies operating in China\u2019s petroleum sector.<\/p>\n

    Investigators also flagged a cluster of interconnected unhosted wallets, which prosecutors dubbed \u201cEntity A\u201d. They allegedly received and redistributed more than US$1.5 billion linked to Iranian oil sales, sending funds to IRGC-linked money services businesses and an Iranian crypto exchange. Prosecutors say the transactions were deliberately structured to hide where the funds came from and who controlled them.<\/p>\n

    What\u2019s Next<\/h2>\n

    FBI Assistant Director James Barnacle said the bureau remains committed to tracking down illicit crypto flows wherever they lead. The case is being run by the SDNY\u2019s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit alongside its National Security and International Narcotics Unit, with several assistant US attorneys handling the case.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s important to note that a civil forfeiture complaint is just an allegation at this stage and that nothing\u2019s been proven. It\u2019ll be up to a court to decide whether the US government actually gets to keep the seized funds.<\/p>\n

    Read also:<\/strong> <\/strong>Australia Removes 45 Remittance and Crypto Firms From AML Registers<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    Iran,Oil,United States#Moves #Seize #61M #Crypto #Linked #Sanctioned #Iranian #Oil #Sales1789457667<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    US prosecutors have filed a civil forfeiture case seeking roughly US$61 million in crypto allegedly linked to sanctioned Iranian oil sales. Prosecutors allege Chinese firms and crypto wallets helped move and launder more than US$1.5 billion in illicit Iranian oil proceeds. The funds allegedly flowed to Iran and IRGC-linked entities through a network designed to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[6925,62,2800,3070,761,204,143,4718,4370],"class_list":["post-13253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bitcoin","tag-61m","tag-crypto","tag-iranian","tag-linked","tag-moves","tag-oil","tag-sales","tag-sanctioned","tag-seize"],"yoast_head":"\nUS Moves to Seize $61M in Crypto Linked to Sanctioned Iranian Oil Sales - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13253\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US Moves to Seize $61M in Crypto Linked to Sanctioned Iranian Oil Sales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"US prosecutors have filed a civil forfeiture case seeking roughly US$61 million in crypto allegedly linked to sanctioned Iranian oil sales. 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