DOJ Seeks $61M Crypto Forfeiture Over Iranian Oil Sales

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint on September 14 seeking approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency that it alleges was derived from sanctioned Iranian crude-oil and petroleum-product sales. The action seeks to forfeit the assets through a civil proceeding; the allegations have not been established in court.

SDNY civil forfeiture complaint targets $61 million

The Department of Justice announcement describes the cryptocurrency as proceeds of sanctioned Iranian petroleum sales. Civil forfeiture allows the government to pursue property alleged to be connected to specified unlawful activity, rather than bringing a criminal case against the property owner in the same action.

The filing places the case in the Southern District of New York, a federal jurisdiction that has handled a number of cryptocurrency-related enforcement matters. The DOJ did not, in its announcement, state that the assets had already been forfeited.

Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale’s alleged Binance route

Chinese companies Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale allegedly used Binance trading accounts to launder Iranian oil proceeds and provide cryptocurrency on-ramp services, according to the civil complaint.

The complaint also characterizes exchanges of oil-sale funds into cryptocurrency as part of the alleged movement of proceeds through the network.

CoinDesk reported that the targeted assets were cryptocurrency connected to Binance accounts controlled by the two China-based firms. Binance itself was not named as a defendant in the case.

Complaint traces more than $1.5 billion through related wallets

More than approximately $1.5 billion in illicit Iranian oil-sale proceeds allegedly moved through a network of related cryptocurrency addresses, according to DOJ.

The complaint also alleges transfers to entities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, as well as to an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange.

The immediate forfeiture action seeks approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency. The broader transaction claims remain allegations in the government’s civil complaint; the action itself concerns the approximately $61 million identified for forfeiture.

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