The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex, four major Iranian cryptoasset exchanges, along with four individuals linked to Nobitex: chairman and co-founder Amir Hossein Rad, co-founders Ali Aghamir and Mohammad Aghamir (members of the Kharrazi family connected to Supreme Leader Khamenei), and current CEO Seyed Ali Khoee. Elliptic analysis shows these exchanges have processed at least $40 billion in cryptoasset transactions. While Iranian exchanges were already blocked under existing sanctions, the SDN listing adds counterterrorism designations under E.O. 13224, citing IRGC and ransomware links, and triggers secondary sanctions for non-US persons and foreign financial institutions dealing with these entities. Elliptic linked Nobitex to IRGC-aligned wallets, interactions with sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex, and addresses tied to Hamas, DPRK hacking groups, and Syrian actors. The Central Bank of Iran used Nobitex to acquire over $507 million USDT to support the rial during its collapse. After US-Israeli strikes, Nobitex outflows surged, indicating capital flight. Compliance teams must note that the 50% rule applies, automatically blocking entities owned 50% or more by designated persons.

Key facts

• OFAC designated Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, Ramzinex and four individuals linked to Nobitex.
• Sanctioned exchanges processed at least $40 billion in crypto transactions, per Elliptic.
• SDN listing adds secondary sanctions risks for non-US entities dealing with them.
• Nobitex linked to IRGC, sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex, and illicit actors.
• Central Bank of Iran used Nobitex to buy $507M USDT; outflows surged after US-Israeli strikes.