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Story: U.S. Targets $61 Million in Crypto from Sanctioned Iranian Oil Network

By Bruce Buterin

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FBI and the $1.5 Billion Paper Trail. James C. Barnacle, Jr. of the FBI said publicly that going after these funds directly weakens…

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Treasury, Tether, and a Growing Crackdown. The forfeiture filing lands inside a broader push by U.S.

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What the Civil Forfeiture Process Actually Means. Civil forfeiture works differently from a criminal prosecution.

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Federal prosecutors filed a civil forfeiture complaint targeting roughly $61 million in cryptocurrency they say came straight from black-market Iranian oil sales — money…

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Two Chinese companies sit at the center of it. Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, according to the complaint, used Binance trading accounts to launder oil proceeds on behalf of…

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James C. Barnacle, Jr. of the FBI said publicly that going after these funds directly weakens Iran's military and the terrorist entities connected to it.

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And it's not the first time these companies have attracted official attention. Senator Richard Blumenthal sent records requests to both Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale back in…

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The forfeiture filing lands inside a broader push by U.S. authorities to choke off Iran's access to crypto markets.

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Probably. But no one's confirmed it either way.

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More context: Letitia James Leads 17 AGs to Block Crypto Clarity Act Vote in Senate

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Crypto's role in sanctions evasion has drawn sharper scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers for a few years now.

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Civil forfeiture works differently from a criminal prosecution. The government files against the assets themselves, not necessarily against a named defendant in a criminal dock.

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So the filing is significant, but it's a beginning, not an end.

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Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale haven't publicly responded to the complaint based on what's available.

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Read also: Canadian Dollar Drops as Oil Surges Past $95 Amid Rate Hike Fears

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