WASHINGTON – US prosecutors are seeking to seize $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly linked to a broader network that moved proceeds from sanctioned Iranian oil sales. Authorities say more than $1.5 billion flowed through the network, involving Chinese intermediaries and Binance accounts. While Binance is not accused of wrongdoing in the case, its platform features prominently in the financial trail under investigation.
It started with Iranian oil money, and ended with a trail of cryptocurrency wallets worth millions of dollars. Now, US prosecutors are moving to seize $61 million in crypto, alleging the funds were part of a much larger $1.5 billion network used to move Iranian oil proceeds through Chinese intermediaries and Binance accounts. While Binance itself is not accused of wrongdoing in the case, its platform sits at a key point in the financial trail.
US government is going after more than $61 million in cryptocurrency that prosecutors say is tied to a network moving money from illegal Iranian oil sales to buyers in China. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed a civil forfeiture case in September 2026, alleging that the cryptocurrency represents proceeds from the sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products in violation of U.S. sanctions.
But the $61 million at the center of the case may be only a small piece of a much larger financial operation.
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According to prosecutors, more than $1.5 billion in Iranian oil revenue passed through a network of cryptocurrency wallets that investigators have identified as “Entity A.” The network allegedly helped move and disguise money before it reached Iranian government-linked organizations, businesses connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian financial-service companies and a cryptocurrency exchange based in Iran.
Two Chinese companies with Hong Kong connections have emerged as key players in the government’s allegations: Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited. Blessed Trust was presented as a wealth-management and virtual-asset custody company, while Hexa Whale operated as a commodities broker.
Prosecutors allege that the companies were used as intermediaries in the movement of Iranian oil proceeds. Their activities reportedly included converting traditional currency into cryptocurrency and transferring the digital assets through different wallets and accounts. A major part of that alleged process took place through Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
According to the allegations, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale maintained trading accounts on Binance that were used to move funds connected to the Iranian oil trade. From there, the money allegedly moved into privately controlled crypto wallets before eventually reaching Iran-linked entities. Prosecutors say the broader wallet network handled more than $1.5 billion in alleged Iranian oil proceeds. Some of the money ultimately reached entities associated with the Iranian government and the IRGC.
US government alleges that the funds helped support Iranian military activities and organizations that Washington has designated as terrorist groups. Some of the transactions also allegedly passed through the U.S. financial system.
Despite Binance’s role in the alleged transaction trail, the exchange itself is not being charged in this case. The government’s action is a civil forfeiture case targeting the cryptocurrency, rather than a criminal prosecution of Binance. Binance says its compliance teams had already identified suspicious activity involving the two companies. The exchange says it removed Hexa Whale in August 2025 and Blessed Trust in January 2026.
The company has also stressed that it has strict controls against sanctions violations and illicit activity and regularly cooperates with law enforcement. Binance’s position is that the exchange was used by the alleged network but was not itself a participant in the wrongdoing described by prosecutors.
The case is particularly notable because Binance has already faced major scrutiny from U.S. authorities. In 2023, the company pleaded guilty to U.S. anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations and agreed to pay around $4.3 billion in penalties. Since then, Binance has invested heavily in compliance and expanded its cooperation with regulators and law-enforcement agencies.
The latest allegations raise fresh questions about how sophisticated financial networks can operate through major crypto platforms even as exchanges strengthen their monitoring systems. At the same time, Binance’s claim that it identified and removed the two companies before the latest government action shows how complicated the issue can be. Detecting suspicious activity is one thing; determining the full scale and destination of a financial network can take much longer.
The cryptocurrency targeted by US government includes USDT, the stablecoin issued by Tether. Authorities say the targeted funds were frozen in a number of cryptocurrency addresses, allowing investigators to prevent the money from being moved while the forfeiture case developed. Tether’s cooperation is another important part of the story. Stablecoin issuers have the ability, under certain circumstances, to freeze tokens held in specific wallets after identifying them as connected to sanctioned or illicit activity.
That gives authorities another tool in the fight against financial networks operating through cryptocurrency.
The case shows a bigger issue as several organizations facing sanctions can use digital assets to move money across borders. Tehran long relied on alternative financial channels to keep trade and revenue flowing despite international restrictions. Cryptocurrency can offer another route because transactions can happen quickly and across jurisdictions without going through a traditional bank for every step.
Even when people try to hide behind layers of wallets, intermediaries and transfers, investigators can sometimes follow the money from one address to another and eventually connect those transactions to real-world companies and individuals. That appears to be what U.S. investigators are attempting to do in this case.
The $61 million is not automatically going to the U.S. government because this is a civil forfeiture case, anyone who claims a legal interest in the assets can challenge the government’s attempt to take them. The cryptocurrency has reportedly been frozen, but permanent forfeiture would require the case to move through the courts.
If prosecutors ultimately prevail, the government could take ownership of the assets. Until then, the allegations remain allegations and have not been established as facts through a final court judgment.
The case could have implications far beyond Binance or the $61 million involved. Cryptocurrency exchanges are facing increasing pressure to know who their customers are, monitor suspicious transactions, identify sanctioned wallets and quickly respond when authorities flag questionable activity.
Stablecoin companies are also becoming an increasingly important part of the enforcement system because their tokens can potentially be frozen when linked to sanctioned or illicit transactions.
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