U.S. seeks to seize $61 million of crypto it claims are proceeds from Iranian petroleum sales to Chinese buyers — SkimNews
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- U.S. Attorney's Office for SDNY filed a civil forfeiture complaint against $61 million in crypto, alleging the funds are proceeds from black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products
- The complaint alleges Iran used a network of cryptocurrency actors in China and elsewhere to launder more than $1.5 billion in illicit oil money intended to benefit Iran's military and the IRGC
- Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, two Chinese companies, allegedly used Binance trading accounts to launder oil proceeds and funnel funds to Iran, its agents, and proxies; both also sent or received tens of millions through the U.S. financial system
- Binance stated it has "zero tolerance for sanctions violations" and did not permit transactions with sanctioned individuals, pledging continued cooperation with law enforcement
- Tether will "burn" the tokens in target addresses and issue replacement tokens of equal value to be transferred into U.S. government custody
- China reportedly accounts for more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil in 2025, averaging 1.4 million barrels per day, making Chinese intermediaries the central conduit for Tehran's sanctions evasion
- In April, Washington sanctioned a Chinese independent "teapot" refinery and warned financial institutions they could face sanctions for dealings with Chinese refineries processing Iranian oil
Why it matters: The $61 million forfeiture targets a single node in an alleged $1.5 billion laundering pipeline, signaling DOJ intent to choke the crypto infrastructure enabling Iran's oil exports — of which China absorbs over 80% (1.4M bpd in 2025). Binance and Tether now face direct compliance exposure as named gatekeepers in the scheme.
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