The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize $61 million in USDT cryptocurrency, targeting an alleged $1.5 billion black-market Iranian oil laundering network. Prosecutors state that Chinese firms Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale used Binance accounts to funnel oil proceeds to the Iranian military and the IRGC. While Binance is not accused of wrongdoing and has offboarded the firms, Tether has frozen the targeted TRON wallets, which will be burned and replaced for FBI custody.
DOJ civil forfeiture complaint
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint on September 14, 2026, seeking approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency linked to black-market Iranian oil sales
- ▪U.S. prosecutors allege that the targeted cryptocurrency was intended to finance the Iranian government, its military, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
- ▪The civil forfeiture complaint alleges that a network of unhosted cryptocurrency wallets, labeled "Entity A," received and distributed more than $1.5 billion in illicit Iranian oil proceeds
- ▪The civil forfeiture complaint was filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan federal court
Chinese company laundering operations
- ▪Blessed Trust Limited marketed itself as a wealth management or virtual asset custody provider, while Hexa Whale Trading Limited presented itself as a commodities broker
- ▪Chinese companies Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited allegedly used Binance trading accounts to launder Iranian oil proceeds
- ▪Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited allegedly moved tens of millions of dollars through U.S.-based correspondent bank accounts without required OFAC licenses
Binance compliance response
- ▪Binance stated it has zero tolerance for sanctions violations and did not permit transactions with sanctioned individuals on its platform
- ▪The Department of Justice's civil forfeiture complaint does not charge Binance with any criminal wrongdoing
- ▪Binance stated in March 2026 that it offboarded Hexa Whale Trading Limited on August 13, 2025, and Blessed Trust Limited in January 2026 following internal compliance reviews
Tether wallet freezes
- ▪A seizure warrant issued on September 14, 2026, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang authorizes the FBI to transfer the targeted USDT into a government-controlled hardware wallet
- ▪The civil forfeiture complaint targets exactly 61,192,367.59 USDT held across ten TRON addresses that had already been frozen by Tether
- ▪Tether is expected to burn the tokens in the targeted TRON addresses and issue replacement USDT of equal value to the U.S. government
Iranian oil sanctions evasion
- ▪The U.S. government sanctioned the Iranian cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex in June 2026, alleging it processed transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
- ▪China is one of the largest buyers of Iranian crude oil, accounting for more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil in 2025, averaging 1.4 million barrels per day
- ▪The U.S. Treasury Department launched "Operation Economic Outcast" in August 2026 to target Iranian financial networks and digital asset channels
Debatable claims
- ▪The US government should restrict the use of unhosted cryptocurrency wallets
- ▪The US should not seize cryptocurrency through civil forfeiture without criminal convictions
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