The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint on September 14 against $61 million in cryptocurrency linked to black market sales of Iranian oil and Binance accounts. The funds allegedly passed through Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, two China-based firms, before being funneled to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a US-designated terrorist organization. The wallet network involved allegedly moved over $1.5 billion in illicit Iranian oil proceeds. The filing comes two weeks before Binance’s UK license application window opens on September 30, which could complicate its authorization process with the Financial Conduct Authority. Binance, which pleaded guilty to sanctions violations in 2023 and paid a $4.3 billion penalty, is not named as a defendant in the complaint.
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