OFAC Sanctions BitBank Over Alleged Iranian Digital-Asset Sanctions Evasion
Key Takeaways
- 01OFAC placed BitBank, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three Babak Zanjani associates on the SDN List on September 17, 2026.
- 02Treasury says the action, part of Operation Economic Outcast, targets alleged Iranian digital-asset infrastructure used to evade sanctions and move value outside the formal financial system.
- 03US persons generally must block covered property of the designated parties and cannot transact with them without OFAC authorization; OFAC’s 50% ownership rule can extend restrictions to certain unlisted entities.
- 04Digital-asset and related service providers should screen for direct and indirect exposure and may need to block assets, stop transactions, and strengthen screening and blockchain-monitoring controls.
- 05Non-US firms can face sanctions risk for knowingly carrying out significant transactions for, or materially supporting, the designated parties; the action does not change the Bitcoin protocol or label all BitBank activity illicit.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Iranian digital-asset exchange BitBank, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of Iranian financier Babak Zanjani on September 17, 2026. The parties were added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List.
The action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, a Treasury initiative intended to disrupt financial channels that it says allow the Iranian regime to move value and evade US sanctions outside the formal financial system. Treasury alleges that BitBank helped transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including facilitating Bitcoin transfers to the IRGC between June and July and payments connected to the sanctioned Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority.
For US persons, any property or interests in property of the listed parties that are in the United States or within a US person’s possession or control must generally be blocked. US persons generally cannot conduct transactions with the designated parties unless OFAC authorizes them. The restrictions may also apply to entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50% or more in the aggregate by one or more blocked persons, even if those entities are not separately named on the SDN List.
Digital-asset exchanges, wallet providers, custodians, payment companies, liquidity providers, hosting firms, software vendors, and other counterparties with a US connection should assess direct and indirect exposure to BitBank, its developer, and the named individuals. Relevant businesses may need to halt prohibited transactions, block covered property, and update sanctions-screening and blockchain-monitoring controls.
Non-US firms may also face sanctions exposure if they knowingly conduct significant transactions for, or provide material support to, the designated parties. The designations concern the alleged conduct of the named people and entities; they do not mean that all BitBank customers or all Bitcoin transactions were illicit. They also do not alter Bitcoin’s software, protocol, or network rules.