US authorities have filed a civil complaint seeking the forfeiture of $61 million in cryptoassets that investigators say are linked to proceeds from Iranian oil sales. CNBC reported that the case centers on transactions allegedly used to evade sanctions.
According to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, used accounts on the Binance crypto exchange to launder revenue from shadow commodities trade. Prosecutors say more than $1.5 billion was legitimized through the network and then directed to finance Iranian military structures.
The report notes that China remains one of the largest buyers of Iranian oil. In 2025, it accounted for more than 80% of oil shipments from Iran, averaging 1.4 million barrels a day.
In April, Washington had already imposed restrictions on a Chinese independent oil refinery and warned financial institutions about the risks of dealing with businesses that process Iranian crude. The new complaint suggests the US is continuing to tighten scrutiny over the use of digital assets in such transactions.
On September 1, US authorities also announced a separate operation in which they seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency and blocked the online infrastructure of Hamas. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took control of domains and servers that investigators said had been used to raise funds and recruit supporters through encrypted chats. The tracing and seizure of digital assets were carried out under warrants issued in 2025.
