OFAC Sanctions Iran’s Hormuz Bitcoin Insurance Scheme Tied to $10B, $850M Binance Flows

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two Iranian maritime firms on Friday for running a Bitcoin-accepting “insurance” scheme that Washington says could generate over $10 billion in revenue for Tehran by forcing ships to pay for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a corridor that carries roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil.

The targeted entities — the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company (PGMIC) and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority, operating the “Hormuz Safe” program developed by Iran’s Ministry of Economy — allegedly compel commercial vessels to buy mandatory coverage to transit the strait, with payment accepted in “Bitcoin and other digital assets,” according to OFAC’s statement.

A crypto payment rail built to dodge sanctions

OFAC described the scheme as central to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “extortion” operation, using digital-asset payments specifically to bypass the traditional dollar-clearing sanctions that have crippled Iran’s access to global finance. Bloomberg first reported in May that Iran had launched a Bitcoin-backed insurance service targeting ships in the strait.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the action in stark economic terms. “With its economy in freefall and inflation in the triple digits, the regime is desperate for cash,” Bessent said. “The United States will not allow Iran to hold global commerce hostage or use international shipping to finance the IRGC’s terrorism, aggression, and repression.”

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been sharply reduced since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran in February 2026, a conflict that briefly appeared to be winding down after a June memorandum of understanding aimed at reopening the waterway peacefully. That truce broke down, and military strikes resumed on July 13. A three-day ceasefire in late July produced another round of talks, but hostilities have since flared again.

$850 million moved through Binance

OFAC’s action also names Babak Morteza Zanjani, described as a “disgraced regime financier,” who had promoted the Hormuz Safe scheme to his social media followers. According to the sanctions filing, Zanjani used Binance between 2024 and 2025 to move $850 million, even though his account had been flagged multiple times.

That figure adds a concrete data point to a broader pattern regulators have flagged: sanctioned actors routing large sums through mainstream exchanges despite repeated internal red flags. It also comes after the U.S. previously moved to freeze other Iranian digital-asset holdings, underscoring a sustained campaign against crypto-based sanctions evasion tied to Tehran.

Friday’s designations extended beyond the Bitcoin insurance scheme to include an Iranian shadow fleet of tankers that Treasury says has been supplying the country with millions of barrels of crude oil and petroleum products, keeping export revenue flowing despite the broader sanctions regime.

Why it matters for crypto markets

The case is a reminder that Bitcoin’s censorship-resistant settlement layer can be exploited by sanctioned states just as readily as by legitimate users, and that regulators are increasingly capable of tracing those flows back to specific entities and wallets. For exchanges and compliance teams, the $850 million figure tied to a single flagged account is a concrete illustration of how much volume can slip through before enforcement catches up — a data point likely to fuel further scrutiny of exchange-level AML controls tied to sanctioned jurisdictions.

Read more: Russia Lists Durov as Terrorist Day After FSB Warrant, Cites $1.26M Telegram Fine

Sources

• bitcoinmagazine.com
• decrypt.co
• protos.com