The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on a network linked to Iranian businessman Babak Morteza Zanjani, targeting four individuals and nine entities accused of helping Tehran evade international sanctions through cryptocurrency and other financial operations.
The latest measures, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), include Zanjani’s sister, Bahareh Morteza Zanjani, who resides in the United Arab Emirates. According to Treasury, she managed Dubai-based BZ Diamond FZCO, a company dealing in natural and lab-grown diamonds that allegedly supported Zedxion Exchange Ltd., a UK-registered cryptocurrency platform linked to Zanjani.
The action follows earlier U.S. sanctions imposed on January 30 against Zanjani and his crypto businesses, including Zedcex Exchange Ltd. and Zedxion Exchange Ltd. Once sentenced to death in Iran in 2016 for embezzling state oil funds, Zanjani’s sentence was reduced in 2024, and he later re-emerged as a supporter of major economic projects within Iran.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions reflect Washington’s continued efforts to increase economic pressure on Iran, citing the country’s weakening currency and persistent inflation.
Investigations by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) alleged that Zedxion operated as a corporate front for Zanjani while presenting a fictitious chief executive. The report also claimed the exchange processed billions of dollars in digital assets despite reporting limited activity to UK authorities.
Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs previously reported that the exchanges transferred more than $10 million to Sa’id Ahmad Muhammad al-Jamal, a senior financial official linked to Yemen’s Houthi movement.
The sanctions also target Solmaz Bani, a Dutch national based in Dubai whom U.S. authorities describe as Zanjani’s close associate. OFAC alleged that Bani registered websites for companies connected to Zanjani and provided material support to his business network.
Responding on X, Zanjani denied the allegations, stating that the individuals and companies sanctioned outside Iran have no commercial relationship with him and never have.
Inside Iran, OFAC designated Zanjani’s Dot One conglomerate, including its parent company, Dot One Value Creation Group, and several subsidiaries operating in sectors such as aviation, rail transport, gold production, digital assets, and travel services.
Among those sanctioned were DotOne Gold Company, which is linked to the Tala Token digital asset, DotOne Rail Company, which secured an $800 million contract with Iran’s state railway in 2025, DotOne Airlines Company, DotOne Barter Company, and DotOne Trip.
The Treasury also blacklisted foreign firms accused of supporting Zanjani’s crypto operations. Turkey-based fintech company Zedpay Finansal Sistem Ve Hizmetleri Anonim Sirketi and its chairman, Mehdi Rezazadeh, were sanctioned for allegedly providing digital wallet and cross-border payment services. In the UAE, Dubai-based Zedx DMCC and its manager, Sukhrob Oimakhmadov, were also designated for allegedly managing cryptocurrency wallets tied to Zedcex.
Under the sanctions, all U.S.-based assets belonging to the designated individuals and entities are frozen, American citizens and businesses are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them, and foreign parties that assist the network risk additional civil or criminal penalties.
