The United States Justice Department on Monday, September 14, filed a civil forfeiture of USD 61 million in cryptocurrency, accusing the Iranian military of using black-market oil sales, according to a statement by the US Attorney’s Office.
Deputy US Attorney Sean S Buckley said the move demonstrates the US’ determination to deprive the Government of Iran and its “terrorist proxies” of the “illegal money” they rely on to threaten Washington. The Justice Department said Tehran is relying on black-market sales of sanctioned crude oil to “fund its military and foster terrorism in the Middle East and around the world.”
Chinese companies and a UAE-based cryptocurrency exchange involved
The Justice Department’s complaint stated that two Chinese companies used trading accounts at a UAE-based cryptocurrency exchange to launder the proceeds of black-market sales of Iranian oil, funneling the funds to the Iranian government, where they were used to finance terrorist and other activities of the state.
The complaint alleged that a network of self-managed or unhosted cryptocurrency addresses received and distributed more than approximately USD 1.5 billion of proceeds from the illicit sale of Iranian oil.
It named two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, claiming they facilitated the Iranian oil transfers through transactions and cryptocurrency addresses designed and executed to obscure the nature, source, and ownership of the funds involved. “Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale have also used the US financial system to send or receive tens of millions of dollars as part of this scheme,” the statement said.
“Today’s complaint demonstrates the FBI’s ability to follow the money, root out illicit schemes, and halt the stream of cryptocurrency to any government attempting to evade sanctions or committing terrorist activities,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle Jr.
“By cutting off funds raised by the black market sale of crude oil, the Iranian military and terrorists are weakened. The FBI will not relent in its resolve to drain the funds from dangerous foreign actors.”
Iran strikes damage weapons stockpile at US bases
A US military watchdog released the defence department’s first formal accounting of US facility and equipment losses during the war, confirming that the military is facing strategic inventory shortfalls.
Compiled by inspectors from the Defence Department, State Department and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the assessment shows Washington’s first official accounting of depletion of critical munitions as well as damage to American assets.
The report covered February 28 to June 30 and said Iranian strikes “damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan.”
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