Overview
- The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated BitBank on Sept. 17, 2026 and added the exchange to the SDN list, blocking U.S. property and subjecting U.S. persons to reporting and blocking rules.
- OFAC said BitBank is tied to financier Babak Zanjani and alleged that between June and July 2026 his network used the exchange to move hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
- Treasury also sanctioned BitBank’s software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three Zanjani associates named as executives in his Dot One network, treating developers and managers as enforcement targets.
- Officials linked BitBank to Iran’s Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, saying that since June the maritime payment scheme routed ship transit payments through the exchange to the Iranian regime.
- Treasury did not publish wallet addresses or transaction hashes in its public release so the cited transfer totals lack on‑chain identifiers for independent verification and the designation shifts emphasis to corporate links and compliance risk for third parties.