On September 16, 2025, the OFAC designated a pair of Iranian financial facilitators and more than a dozen Hong Kong- and United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based individuals and entities. These entities were sanctioned for their roles in coordinating funds transfers, including from the sale of Iranian oil, that benefit the IRGC-Qods Force (QF), and Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).
The sanctioned entities use “shadow banking” to evade sanctions by laundering money through overseas front companies and cryptocurrency. The IRGC-QF and MODAFL use this money to help terrorist groups in the region and build advanced weapons like missiles and drones, which put U.S. troops and allies at risk.
According to the OFAC’s press release, Iranian nationals Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand coordinated to facilitate the purchase of over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency for oil sales for the Iranian government. They used a network of front companies in multiple foreign jurisdictions to transfer the cryptocurrency funds. Alivand has acted as a financial facilitator and oil broker for the Syria-based Al-Qatirji Company, coordinating payments and millions in transactions linked to the IRGC-QF and Hizballah through front companies and digital wallets. Seventeen other entities were designated for providing material support to the IRGC-QF, Hizballah, or MODAFL.
Read the OFAC’s press release here.