US sanctions eight Canadian money-exchange firms over alleged Iran ties

Key points

• The Treasury sanctioned eight Canadian money-service businesses it says dealt with sanctioned Iranian entities and IRGC-linked digital asset addresses.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Canada cannot be a safe haven for facilitators of sanctions evasion for Iran.
• A separate Rewards for Justice offer of up to $20m and possible relocation seeks information on Iran's nuclear programme.

The US Treasury has sanctioned eight Canadian money-service companies over alleged Iran ties, saying they exchanged Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets to enable international transactions. A Treasury statement on Friday said the businesses had handled dealings with sanctioned Iranian digital asset exchanges and with addresses linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The designations cut the firms off from the dollar-based financial system. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Canada could not serve as a haven for facilitators providing sanctions evasion services to Iran and its proxies, adding that the department would pursue the regime's financial channels worldwide. The statement said some of the targeted entities had changed names and addresses to avoid detection, and that the action was coordinated with FINTRAC, Canada's financial intelligence unit.

Cointelegraph reported in August that the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control was targeting crypto exchanges that helped move funds to the IRGC. Friday's move continues a campaign the Treasury describes as disrupting Iran's use of digital assets to fund terrorism and human rights abuses.

In a separate action the same day, the US Rewards for Justice programme offered up to $20m and possible relocation for information on Iran's nuclear programme, including facilities, equipment and personnel.

What to watch: No further step is named beyond the sanctions and the reward offer.

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