US Treasury sanctions Iranian firms accepting Bitcoin for Strait of Hormuz passage

Jul 30, 2026

The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned two Iranian firms, Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe, for an IRGC-backed "extortion scheme" in the Strait of Hormuz. The firms forced vessels to buy insurance, with HormuzSafe accepting Bitcoin to evade sanctions. The move targets a program that could generate $10B for Iran, whose economy is in "freefall," and also sanctioned part of Iran's shadow tanker fleet.

US Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Firms

▪The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two Iranian maritime firms for their role in an alleged extortion scheme.
▪The sanctioned entities are the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority.
▪The sanctions also targeted eight companies linked to Iran’s shadow fleet of tankers and identified eight vessels as blocked property.

Hormuz "Insurance" Extortion Scheme

▪The U.S. Treasury described the operation as an "extortion scheme" where insurance protects against risks, like vessel seizure, created by Iran itself.
▪The sanctioned firms ran a scheme requiring commercial vessels to purchase mandatory "insurance" to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
▪The scheme was promoted on social media by Babak Morteza Zanjani, an Iranian financier previously sanctioned by the U.S.

IRGC Connections

▪The scheme allegedly generated revenue for the IRGC while helping Iran exert greater control over shipping through the strait.
▪The U.S. Treasury stated the insurance scheme is backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Cryptocurrency Use in Sanctions Evasion

▪The firm HormuzSafe accepts payments in Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets as part of an effort to bypass Western sanctions.
▪Bitcoin is considered attractive to sanctioned actors because it lacks a centralized issuer capable of freezing funds, unlike some stablecoins.

Geopolitical and Economic Context

▪Iranian state-linked media reported the platform could potentially generate over $10 billion in revenue for the country.
▪The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic waterway through which about one-fifth of the global oil trade passes.
▪U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Iran's economy is "in freefall" with "triple digits" inflation, making the regime "desperate for cash."