Daily Compliance Brief — OFAC Targets Iranian Digital Asset Infrastructure

September 18, 2026

Signal

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated BitBank and four associated individuals and entities on September 17, 2026. According to the U.S. Treasury press release, the action targets digital asset infrastructure that OFAC says was used to support Iranian sanctions evasion.

OFAC stated that BitBank was used to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps between June and July 2026. The designation also covered BitBank's developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three individuals linked to the network.

Why it matters

Financial institutions and digital asset businesses should reassess exposure to the newly designated entities and associated ownership structures, including indirect relationships involving Iranian digital asset activity.

Sanctions screening and transaction monitoring should account for digital asset counterparties, service providers, and transaction flows that may create indirect exposure to designated persons or sanctions-evasion networks.