Washington announced sanctions against Iran’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange on Tuesday, accusing it of enabling the Iranian government and blacklisted state institutions to evade western sanctions.
Nobitex had become a central node in a shadow financial system used to process hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
A Reuters report last month revealed how Nobitex continued operating even after the government-imposed internet shutdown, processing millions of dollars of transactions.
“While Iran’s economy is in free-fall, the regime has chosen to co-opt digital asset technologies for its own corrupt agenda, including evading sanctions and transferring wealth out of the country,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Nobitex is controlled by two brothers from one of Iran’s most powerful families, with close ties to the new supreme leader, according to Reuters. The two are members of the Kharrazi family, one of the country's most influential dynasties.
Nobitex had provided “significant support” to the Iranian government and enabled a “significant number” of digital transactions linked to the IRGC and Iran’s central bank, the US Treasury said in the statement.
“Following the commencement of US combat operations in Iran, Nobitex played a role in protecting and moving assets and funds out of Iran to shield regime wealth, despite internet blackouts.”
Nobitex could not be reached for comment on the sanctions, which were announced after normal business hours in Iran.
It said in a statement to Reuters in April that it had no direct government connections, and denied assisting the state.
It said any illicit funds moving through Nobitex did so without management approval or awareness. The company also said that the two brothers had never used alternative identities or changed their identities.
