The United States has imposed new sanctions on eight Canadian money services businesses accused of helping Iran move money through cryptocurrency, the Treasury Department said on Friday, in the latest step in its campaign to cut off Tehran's financial channels.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the eight firms under Executive Order 13902, which targets key sectors of the Iranian economy. The department said the companies, based in Ontario and British Columbia, converted Iranian rials and other currencies into digital assets and transacted with sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, Ramzinex and Shelbit, as well as addresses linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The designated businesses are Diverse Trade Inc, operating as Million Exchange; 1380079 BC Limited; Top PC Technician Inc; NIA Nations Currency Ltd; 2397639 Ontario Ltd, operating as Farah Exchange; CCC Inc; B Galaxy Inc; and Darvish Exchange. The designations block any property they hold under U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibit U.S. persons from dealing with them.
Treasury said several of the firms also handled drug proceeds linked to Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder now accused of running a drug trafficking network. The action was coordinated with Canada's financial intelligence unit, FINTRAC, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In a separate action, FinCEN issued an order effectively cutting off the cryptocurrency exchange MEXC Global, which is incorporated in Seychelles, from the U.S. financial system. Treasury said MEXC had facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions linked to sanctions evasion involving Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as cybercrime. The order takes effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the action, saying Canada could not become a safe haven for businesses allegedly helping Iran evade sanctions. The measures are part of Operation Economic Outcast, launched in August to disrupt Iran's financial channels and its use of digital assets to evade international restrictions.
The sanctions came as President Donald Trump said Washington was talking to Iran, even as his administration pressed ahead with the pressure campaign. The Treasury Department had already sanctioned companies and individuals in India and Turkey earlier in the week over their alleged role in helping Iran circumvent restrictions on its oil exports and airlines.
