US Treasury Sanctions Iranian Exchange BitBank Over IRGC Bitcoin Transfers

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned the Tehran-based crypto exchange BitBank for allegedly facilitating the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). OFAC stated that the exchange is controlled by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, who utilized the platform for transfers between June and July. The sanctions also target the exchange's software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh, and three executives from its parent company, Dot One. Additionally, OFAC noted that the Hormuz Safe organization, which was sanctioned in July, used BitBank to process payments.