U.S. Treasury sanctions eight Canada-based money services businesses over Iran digital asset transfers

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Treasury sanctions Canada-Iran crypto ties

Highlights

Treasury's OFAC sanctioned eight Canada-based money services businesses under Executive Order 13902 for facilitating digital asset transactions supporting Iran's sanctioned entities and IRGC.
Several targeted firms, including Million Exchange and Farah Exchange, laundered drug proceeds for sanctioned Canadian trafficker Ryan Wedding, converting millions of dollars in bulk cash into digital assets sent abroad.
All U.S.-controlled assets of the designated entities are blocked, U.S. persons are barred from transactions, and foreign firms risk sanctions exposure for dealings with those parties or for facilitating U.S. restrictions evasion.

Canadian firms targeted in Treasury sanctions push

As reported by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control is designating eight Canada-based money services businesses under Executive Order 13902 for operating in the digital asset sector of the Iranian economy. Treasury says the companies facilitate exchanges involving Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets, helping sanctioned Iranian entities and other illicit actors conduct international transactions tied to Iran.

The department says many of the targeted businesses facilitated transactions with sanctioned Iranian digital asset exchanges and with digital asset addresses associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Treasury describes the move as part of Operation Economic Outcast, launched in August to cut off financial channels that support the Iranian regime and the IRGC, including the use of cryptocurrency for sanctions evasion.

The designated entities 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. Treasury says several of the firms advertised services linking Iran and Canada through currency exchange, money transfers, and digital asset transactions, while some also changed business names and addresses in attempts to avoid detection and enforcement action.

Treasury says the action is coordinated with FinCEN, Canada's financial intelligence unit FINTRAC, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent says Canada cannot serve as a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators providing sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies, adding that Treasury will pursue those channels worldwide.

Enforcement risks extend beyond Iran-related flows

Treasury says several of the designated businesses also worked with sanctioned Canadian drug trafficker Ryan Wedding, who used money exchange firms in the Vancouver and Toronto areas to launder drug proceeds by converting bulk cash into digital assets sent abroad. According to the department, Wedding was apprehended in January 2026 but had used several of the businesses named in the action to transfer millions of dollars' worth of digital assets before entering U.S. custody.

The release cites examples including Million Exchange, Amin Exchange, Farah Exchange, and other firms that Treasury says transacted with sanctioned exchanges such as Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, Ramzinex, Shelbit, and Aban Tether Exchange. Treasury says some addresses associated with the firms also sent or received funds connected to terrorism-linked wallets and laundered proceeds from other criminal activity in Canada.

As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated persons that are in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Treasury says U.S. persons are generally barred from transactions involving those assets unless exempt or authorized, while foreign firms and financial institutions also face potential sanctions exposure if they engage with designated parties or help evade U.S. restrictions.

Our earlier coverage of the World Trade Organization’s outlook examined how wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are reshaping global trade, prompting companies to redesign supply chains and shipping routes for greater resilience. We noted the WTO’s warning that some rerouting and diversification could persist even after conflicts ease, as businesses try to reduce exposure to future shocks and tariff-driven disruption.

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