New York prosecutors seek $61,000,000 crypto forfeiture from Iranian oil sales

Federal prosecutors filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency generated by black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian oil. The proceeds were intended to finance Iran's government and military components, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Deputy U.S. Attorney Sean S. Buckley said the Iranian government used cryptocurrency actors in China and elsewhere to launder more than $1.5 billion in illicit oil money. Buckley said the government was seizing and seeking to forfeit more than $61 million. Two Chinese firms called Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale allegedly moved oil proceeds through Binance accounts in the United Arab Emirates. The firms also moved tens of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system, according to the complaint. The allegations remain unproven unless a court rules in favor of the United States. The FBI New York Counterintelligence and Espionage Division handled the investigation.