Bypassing Sanctions with Crypto: How Iran's Leadership Smuggles Funds Abroad

Senior members of Iran's leadership have expanded their use of digital currencies, mainly Tether's USDT, to smuggle funds out of Iran while bypassing sanctions. The mechanism relies on advanced crypto infrastructure, including Bitcoin mining, and has been adopted by the central bank. The Revolutionary Guards use this channel as a central part of their economic activities. In response, dozens of crypto wallets were frozen, and the US Treasury imposed new sanctions on the shadow banking system and crypto trade, including two shell companies in the UAE.

Senior members of Iran's leadership have expanded their use of digital currencies as a central means of smuggling funds out of Iran, as reported this evening (Saturday) in the Kan News broadcast. The smuggling mechanism is based mainly on Tether's stablecoin USDT, which allows converting large sums into liquid dollars and transferring them globally without oversight. The expansion of the phenomenon relies on Iran's advanced crypto infrastructure, which includes large-scale Bitcoin mining, and the adoption of the system by the country's central bank. The crypto channel has become a central part of the Revolutionary Guards' economic conduct in recent years. In fact, this is a concentrated Iranian effort to bypass Western sanctions, accumulate money outside the country for future needs, and conduct transactions outside Iran. These days, an international effort is underway to curb Iran's use of digital currencies, and recently dozens of crypto wallets belonging to the Revolutionary Guards were frozen. Just yesterday, the US Treasury imposed new sanctions on Iran, this time on the shadow banking system and on crypto trade related to Iran, including two shell companies located in the UAE.