New York Prosecutors Seek $61 Million Crypto Forfeiture Linked to Iranian Oil Sales

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency. The funds are allegedly linked to a money-laundering network involving Chinese firms Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, which reportedly used Binance accounts in the UAE to process proceeds from sanctioned Iranian oil sales. The U.S. government claims these funds were intended to finance the Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.