US Prosecutors Seek Seizure of $61 Million in Virtual Assets Linked to Iranian Oil Sales

The US Department of Justice has initiated efforts to seize virtual assets worth approximately $61 million (about 83 billion won), alleging they are linked to revenues from the sale of sanctioned Iranian oil and petroleum products. The US Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint on April 14, stating that the assets were used to fund the Iranian government and military organizations.

The complaint details that the virtual asset addresses distributed over $1.5 billion (about 2.4 trillion won) in proceeds from Iranian oil sales, with funds flowing to entities connected to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), financial service providers, cryptocurrency addresses, and Iranian exchanges.

Prosecutors also allege that Chinese companies Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale used Binance exchange accounts to launder funds and transfer money to the Iranian government and its affiliated organizations through intermediaries.