The US Treasury Department significantly expanded its ability to crack down on Iran’s digital asset activity on August 24, giving the Office of Foreign Assets Control new authority to go after foreign companies and individuals who support the country’s crypto industry.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the broader package of measures, spanning digital assets alongside technology, gold, aviation, and shipping, as part of what officials are calling an “economic D-Day” aimed at squeezing Iran’s revenue sources.
Monday’s announcement brought sectoral sanctions determinations covering all five of those industries, giving OFAC a wider net to work with going forward. Alongside the new authority, the agency also sanctioned close to 60 entities, individuals, and vessels tied to Iran’s nuclear program, missile development, cyber operations, and oil trading networks.
The digital asset determination specifically opens the door for OFAC to sanction any foreign individual or company operating within, or providing services that support, Iran’s crypto sector. Meanwhile, treasury officials pointed to a clear pattern behind the move, stating that Iran has increasingly leaned on cryptocurrency as its preferred method for evading sanctions, including transactions tied directly to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and government insiders.
One case highlighted in Monday’s action involved Ivan Obukhov, a Ukrainian national based in the UAE. Treasury alleged Obukhov processed more than $100 million in crypto payments since 2023 to help facilitate oil sales on behalf of the IRGC’s Quds Force.
Separately, the agency accused him of working as a broker who arranged vessels to transport Iranian oil, including shipments benefiting Iran’s military and affiliated groups. OFAC sanctioned both Obukhov personally and his UAE-registered company, Foscom FZE.
Monday’s action builds on a string of earlier enforcement steps Treasury has taken against Iran’s crypto ecosystem throughout the year. Back in January, OFAC issued its first Iran-related sanctions targeting digital asset exchanges, designating UK-registered platforms Zedcex and Zedxion. This was followed on June 3 by sanctions against four Iranian crypto exchanges, including Nobitex, the country’s largest platform.
The action came just days after Bessent revealed the US had seized nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency tied to Iranian exchanges and wallets.
Bessent framed Monday’s expanded authority as a warning to anyone still doing business with Tehran. “These measures broaden secondary sanctions risk for anyone foolish enough to continue conducting business with this regime, and accelerate the speed with which we pursue them,” he said during Monday’s press conference.
