The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, its software developer and three individuals tied to financier Babak Zanjani as part of a broader campaign against Iran-linked digital-asset infrastructure. OFAC designated BitBank and Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company on September 17 under Executive Order 13902, alongside Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein and Seyed Adel Heidari.
According to the Treasury Department’s official sanctions announcement, Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority has used BitBank since June to transfer payments it received to the Iranian government. Treasury separately alleges that Zanjani used BitBank between June and July to facilitate hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin transfers to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
BitBank Tied to Hormuz Safe Payments
Hormuz Safe had already been sanctioned in July over what Treasury describes as an IRGC-backed maritime insurance scheme targeting commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury says Hormuz Safe accepts Bitcoin and other digital assets as payment for maritime services, including insurance, as part of efforts to bypass Western sanctions.
BitBank is described by OFAC as a digital-asset exchange controlled by Zanjani, who had previously been designated by the United States. Pishtaz Simorgh developed BitBank’s digital-asset software and is a subsidiary of the already sanctioned Dot One Value Creation Group, while Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein serves as Pishtaz Simorgh’s CEO. The other two designated individuals are also described as senior figures in Zanjani’s network.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action demonstrates that cryptocurrency-based financing remains within OFAC’s enforcement reach. The September designations specifically extend sanctions to both the exchange layer and the software infrastructure supporting it, rather than targeting only the individuals allegedly directing the activity.
OFAC Expands Digital-Asset Enforcement
The designations carry direct consequences for U.S. persons and financial institutions. Property and interests in property belonging to the newly designated parties that are within U.S. jurisdiction must be blocked and reported to OFAC, while entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons are generally blocked as well. Transactions involving designated parties are prohibited unless authorized or exempt.
For exchanges, custodians and institutional counterparties, the action broadens the range of infrastructure that may require sanctions screening. The designated set now includes not only a crypto exchange but also its software developer and executives linked to the surrounding business network, reinforcing the need to examine indirect ownership, service-provider relationships and historical exposure to newly blocked entities. Treasury has also warned of potential secondary-sanctions exposure for parties continuing to facilitate certain transactions involving Iran.
The September action forms part of Operation Economic Outcast, Treasury’s wider campaign targeting financial channels it says support the Iranian government and IRGC. The next operational issue for crypto firms is identifying and blocking exposure to BitBank, Pishtaz Simorgh and their related entities, while OFAC continues tracing digital-asset infrastructure connected to Iranian sanctions-evasion networks.
