Tether freezes $131M as Iran crypto maritime sanctions hit IRGC Bitcoin toll
A protection racket with a crypto twist — that is what US authorities say Iran has been running through one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned two Iranian firms at the center of an Iran crypto maritime sanctions action targeting a scheme that forced commercial vessels to buy mandatory insurance just to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, with payments accepted in Bitcoin and other digital assets to sidestep Western financial controls.
Key takeaways
- OFAC sanctioned Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority for running an IRGC-backed maritime extortion scheme.
- Iran charged tankers approximately $1 per barrel as a transit fee through the Strait of Hormuz.
- HormuzSafe accepted Bitcoin and other digital assets as payment to circumvent Western sanctions.
- Both entities were designated under Executive Order 13902 for operating in Iran’s financial sector.
- Tether froze $131 million in USDT linked to cryptocurrency wallets sanctioned in mid-July as part of the broader enforcement push.
US Treasury Targets Iran’s Crypto-Backed Maritime Toll Scheme
The designations hit two firms accused of operating under the umbrella of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority. According to the US Treasury, both entities were central to a scheme that extracted mandatory insurance fees from ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz — one of the busiest and most strategically sensitive waterways on Earth, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes daily.
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