Key Takeaways
- • The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated BitBank and its developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, along with three associates of Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, as part of "Operation Economic Outcast," targeting the Iranian regime's digital asset sanctions evasion infrastructure.
- • BitBank has been actively used since June 2026 by OFAC-designated Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority to transfer payments to the Iranian regime, demonstrating operational use of cryptocurrency infrastructure for sanctions circumvention.
- • The designated individuals—Babak Zanjani, Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari—have been instrumental in building infrastructure to launder and transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
- • These designations were executed under Executive Order 13902, which specifically targets Iran's digital asset sector as part of the Trump Administration's broader "Economic D-Day" campaign against the Iranian economy and its financial enablers.
- • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that cryptocurrency-based financing of the Iranian regime is within OFAC's enforcement reach, signaling increased regulatory scrutiny of digital asset platforms facilitating sanctions evasion.
Summary
The U.S. Treasury Department has moved to dismantle a significant component of Iran's cryptocurrency-based sanctions evasion network through coordinated designations targeting BitBank and associated entities and individuals. On September 17, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated BitBank—a digital asset exchange controlled by previously sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani—along with its developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of Zanjani: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari. These designations represent a direct enforcement action against the infrastructure layer supporting Iran's ability to circumvent international financial sanctions through cryptocurrency channels.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the action reflects a strategic determination that digital asset platforms used to finance the Iranian regime fall squarely within OFAC's enforcement authority. "If you support the Iranian regime, the Department of the Treasury will sanction you," Bessent stated, underscoring the administration's commitment to closing loopholes in sanctions enforcement. The designations were made pursuant to Executive Order 13902, which explicitly targets Iran's digital asset sector as a critical vulnerability in the regime's financial architecture.
Operationally, BitBank has facilitated sanctions evasion since at least June 2026, when OFAC-designated Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority began using the platform to transfer payments ultimately destined for the Iranian regime. The platform's role appears to have been central to Zanjani's broader operation, which investigators characterize as a sophisticated infrastructure for laundering and transferring hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to entities including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The targeting of both the platform itself and its developer organization signals U.S. enforcement intent to disrupt not only individual operators but the technical infrastructure supporting sanctions evasion networks.
These designations align with the Trump Administration's "Operation Economic Outcast," described as a whole-of-government economic campaign against Iran and its financial enablers. The action indicates that cryptocurrency transactions, despite their relative opacity, have become a priority enforcement target within the broader sanctions regime, with implications for financial institutions, exchanges, and service providers engaged with digital asset ecosystems that may intersect with sanctioned jurisdictions or entities.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the action reflects a strategic determination that digital asset platforms used to finance the Iranian regime fall squarely within OFAC's enforcement authority. "If you support the Iranian regime, the Department of the Treasury will sanction you," Bessent stated, underscoring the administration's commitment to closing loopholes in sanctions enforcement. The designations were made pursuant to Executive Order 13902, which explicitly targets Iran's digital asset sector as a critical vulnerability in the regime's financial architecture.
Operationally, BitBank has facilitated sanctions evasion since at least June 2026, when OFAC-designated Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority began using the platform to transfer payments ultimately destined for the Iranian regime. The platform's role appears to have been central to Zanjani's broader operation, which investigators characterize as a sophisticated infrastructure for laundering and transferring hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to entities including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The targeting of both the platform itself and its developer organization signals U.S. enforcement intent to disrupt not only individual operators but the technical infrastructure supporting sanctions evasion networks.
These designations align with the Trump Administration's "Operation Economic Outcast," described as a whole-of-government economic campaign against Iran and its financial enablers. The action indicates that cryptocurrency transactions, despite their relative opacity, have become a priority enforcement target within the broader sanctions regime, with implications for financial institutions, exchanges, and service providers engaged with digital asset ecosystems that may intersect with sanctioned jurisdictions or entities.
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