Financial penalties were levied by the US Treasury against eight Canadian money-transfer businesses accused of conducting commercial activities with blacklisted Iranian organizations.
These entities assisted in converting Iranian rials and alternative currencies into digital currencies, thereby supporting cross-border payments, as noted in a Treasury Department release issued on Friday.
Intended to bar these organizations from accessing the US dollar financial network, the penalties represent the most recent actions taken by the Treasury directed at non-US companies.
According to the Treasury, these commercial operations supported payments involving restricted Iranian cryptocurrency platforms, as well as crypto wallet addresses tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran.
Bessent States Canada Must Not Serve as a Sanctuary
Related: US plans to seize $1B in crypto linked to Iran this week: Scott Bessent
“Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies,” stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime’s financial channels anywhere in the world.”
Cointelegraph reported in August that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department focused on digital currency platforms aiding money movements to the IRGC of Iran. Bessent noted during that period that the US intended to “increase the economic pressure” on Iran, targeting financial systems supporting the nation’s government “in dollars, rials, or crypto.”
Friday’s target designations extend the Treasury’s initiative to “disrupt the regime’s exploitation of digital assets to fund terrorism, human rights abuses, and attacks on US personnel and allies,” the announcement explained.
The announcement further noted that these measures were coordinated alongside FINTRAC, which is the financial intelligence agency of Canada.
Certain organizations impacted by this measure altered their business names and physical locations in an attempt to avoid identification, according to the release.
Twenty Million Dollar Bounty Offered for Details Regarding Iran’s Nuclear Project
In a distinct measure announced Friday, the US Rewards for Justice initiative proposed up to $20 million alongside potential relocation for tips concerning the nuclear initiative of Iran, covering its sites, machinery, and staff.
The announcement indicated that Iran’s failure to adhere to International Atomic Energy Agency oversight requirements resulted in the organization losing its “continuity of knowledge” regarding Iranian creation of enriched uranium alongside parts such as centrifuges.
Magazine: Exchanges reporting crypto gains to IRS becomes tax nightmare
Originally published at https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-sanctions-canadian-money-exchange-firms-over-iran-ties?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound.
