U.S. Seeks to Seize $61 Million in Cryptocurrency Linked to Iranian Oil Sales

According to Huoxing Finance, on September 15, CNBC reported that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to seize over $61 million in cryptocurrency. U.S. authorities allege that these funds originated from the sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products in violation of sanctions, ultimately used to support the Iranian government, military, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The complaint states that Iran laundered over $1.5 billion in oil proceeds through cryptocurrency participants in Asian countries, with Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale allegedly using associated transaction accounts to process these funds and transfer them to the Iranian government, agents, or related entities. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sean S. Buckley stated that the more than $61 million seized and sought to be forfeited could have been used to support military operations and terrorist activities against the United States and its allies. The complaint further alleges that Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale provided cryptocurrency fiat on-ramp and off-ramp services to clients, processed transactions through U.S.-based cryptocurrency issuers, and previously moved tens of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system. Neither company could be reached for comment. Additionally, the complaint states that Tether will destroy the cryptocurrency tokens in the涉案 addresses and issue equivalent replacement tokens, which will then be transferred to a wallet controlled by the U.S. government.