US Justice Department files complaint to forfeit $61 million in crypto tied to Iranian oil sales

The US Department of Justice claimed in the early hours of Tuesday, September 15, 2026, as reported by IRNA, that it has filed a complaint to forfeit about $61 million in cryptocurrency proceeds from black market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. The department alleged the Iranian government used a network of crypto actors in China and elsewhere to launder more than $1.5 billion in illicit oil revenue to benefit the military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Shawn Buckley, deputy US attorney for the Southern District of New York, described the action as a sign of US resolve to deprive Iran and its proxies of these funds, and FBI official James C. Barnacle Jr. said the complaint demonstrates the ability to trace and halt crypto flows to governments evading sanctions. The complaint alleges two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, used trading accounts on the Binance exchange in the UAE to launder Iranian oil revenue and transfer it to the Iranian government and its representatives.