US Sanctions Ali Ansari, Financier for Mojtaba Khamenei, and Iran's Shadow Exchange House Network

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Iranian financial facilitator Ali Ansari and a network of Iranian shadow exchange houses on Friday, July 10, 2026, following Iran's resumption of attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury said Ansari oversees a sprawling network of assets benefiting Iran's leader Mojtaba Khamenei and other regime elites, diverting publicly funded wealth into real estate and commercial holdings in countries including Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, and the United Arab Emirates. Treasury also said Ayandeh Bank had racked up billions of dollars in debt by issuing loans backed by the Central Bank of Iran to Ansari's companies. The sanctions were imposed under Executive Orders 13902, 13876, and 13224, building on previous OFAC actions targeting Iran's shadow banking and currency exchange networks.