- Reuters found Nobitex processing millions for Iran’s central bank, the IRGC.
- Ministry of Finance sanctioned Nobitex founders, CEO to help flagged entities.
- The firm disclaims direct government ties or knowingly facilitating illegal transactions.
The United States announced sanctions against Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange on Tuesday, accusing it of enabling the Iranian government and blacklisted state institutions to circumvent Western sanctions.
The new sanctions follow a Reuters investigation published on May 1, which showed how Nobitex had become a central node in a parallel financial system used to process hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The report also revealed how Nobitex continued to operate even after the government-imposed internet shutdown, processing millions of dollars in transactions.
“While Iran’s economy is in freefall, the regime has chosen to embrace 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.
The Reuters investigation showed how Nobitex is controlled by two brothers from one of Iran’s most powerful families, with close ties to the new supreme leader.
The two are members of the Kharrazi family, one of the most influential dynasties in the Islamic Republic.
Company records show that when the exchange started, the brothers were listed under a surname rarely used by family members.
The US Treasury announced on Tuesday that the two brothers, Seyed Mohammad Ali Aghamir Mohammad Ali and Seyed Mohammad Aghamir Mohammad Ali, had also been individually sanctioned along with the exchange’s chief executive, Amir Hossein Rad.
Nobitex had provided “significant support” to the Iranian government and facilitated a “significant number” of digital transactions linked to the IRGC and the Central Bank of Iran, the US Treasury Department said in the statement.
“After the start of US combat operations in Iran, Nobitex played a role in protecting and moving assets and funds out of Iran to protect the regime’s wealth despite internet shutdowns.”
Nobitex could not be reached for comment on the sanctions, which were announced after normal business hours in Iran.
In an emailed statement to Reuters in April, Nobitex said it had no direct government ties and refused to help the state.
It said all illicit funds moving through Nobitex did so without management approval or awareness.
The company also said the two brothers had never used an alternate identity or changed their identities.
