The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated BitBank on September 17 under Executive Order 13902, which targets sectors of Iran’s economy. The action also covered BitBank’s software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of sanctioned financier Babak Zanjani: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein and Seyed Adel Heidari.
Treasury described BitBank as a digital-assets venture controlled by Zanjani and said the platform formed part of a network used to evade US sanctions. It alleged that between June and July, Zanjani used BitBank to facilitate transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin to the IRGC.
The department also said the previously sanctioned Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority had used BitBank since June to transfer payments it received to the Iranian government. Hormuz Safe is linked by US authorities to a Bitcoin-based system associated with payments connected to maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the designation was intended to show that cryptocurrency infrastructure used to finance Tehran remained within the reach of US sanctions enforcement. The latest action forms part of Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign announced by Washington on August 24 to intensify financial pressure on Iran and entities accused of enabling sanctions evasion.
The State Department said the measures targeted two entities and three individuals and were aimed at restricting access by Iran and the IRGC to digital currency networks. It said international digital-asset exchanges could provide sanctioned Iranian institutions with channels to the wider financial system and called on private-sector firms to exercise greater vigilance.
OFAC’s designation means property and interests in property belonging to the sanctioned parties that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of US persons, are blocked and must be reported. Entities owned 50 per cent or more, directly or indirectly, by one or more blocked persons are also subject to blocking rules.
US persons are generally prohibited from transactions involving designated parties unless authorised by OFAC or exempt under applicable regulations. Foreign financial institutions and other businesses can also face sanctions exposure for certain dealings involving blocked persons, while violations may carry civil or criminal penalties.
Treasury said Pishtaz Simorgh developed BitBank’s digital-asset software and is a subsidiary of Dot One Value Creation Group, another entity already designated by OFAC. The department said the three individuals sanctioned alongside BitBank hold senior positions within businesses connected to Zanjani’s network.
Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein was described by Treasury as a key participant in sanctions-evasion activity involving oil exports and digital-asset transfers. Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein was identified as a Dot One manager and chief executive of Pishtaz Simorgh, while Seyed Adel Heidari was identified as vice-chairman of Dot One’s board.
Washington has increased its use of sanctions against financial institutions, companies and digital-asset businesses it says facilitate Iranian transactions outside conventional banking channels. Operation Economic Outcast has been used this month against several other entities, including financial and commercial networks accused of helping Tehran obtain funds or bypass restrictions.
The BitBank designation also underlines the growing importance of cryptocurrency in sanctions enforcement, where blockchain-based transfers can bypass parts of the traditional banking system but still leave transaction records visible on public ledgers. US authorities have increasingly used wallet data, exchange records and financial intelligence to trace transfers linked to sanctioned actors.
Treasury said BitBank had been promoted by Zanjani since at least 2024 and was listed as a partner by companies within his wider business network. Zanjani had already been designated by the United States, and OFAC had previously targeted other digital-asset entities and facilitators tied to him earlier this year.
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