The US Department of Justice is seeking the forfeiture of over $61 million in USDT. Prosecutors allege these funds originated from black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian oil intended to finance the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to the complaint, the funds were moved through Binance accounts by Hong Kong-based entities Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale. The network allegedly handled over $1.5 billion in transfers, including payments to IRGC-linked businesses and an Iranian exchange.
In 2025, Tether froze approximately 61.19 million USDT across 10 addresses on the Tron network. A seizure warrant allows the FBI to take custody of these assets by having Tether destroy the frozen tokens and issue replacements to an FBI-controlled wallet.
A Binance spokesperson stated that the exchange did not permit transactions with sanctioned individuals and is cooperating with law enforcement. The company noted that the legal filing does not allege wrongdoing by Binance itself.
This action follows the US Treasury's expansion of Iran sanctions in August to cover the digital asset sector. Previously, the Treasury alleged that UAE-based broker Ivan Obukhov processed over $100 million in crypto payments to facilitate oil sales.
