WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on 35 entities and individuals that oversee Iran's shadow banking architecture, facilitating the movement of the equivalent of tens of billions of dollars tied to sanctions evasion and Iran's sponsorship of terrorism.
These networks allow Iran's armed forces-including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-to access the international financial system to receive payment for illicit oil sales, purchase sensitive components for missiles and other weapons systems, and transfer money to Iran's terrorist proxies, the Department of the Treasury said.
'Iran's shadow banking system serves as a critical financial lifeline for its armed forces, enabling activities that disrupt global trade and fuel violence across the Middle East,' said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. 'Illicit funds funneled through this network support the regime's ongoing terrorist operations, posing a direct threat to U.S. personnel, regional allies, and the global economy. Financial institutions are on notice: Any institution that facilitates or engages with these networks is at risk of severe consequences.'
Tuesday's designations by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control expose and disrupt the Iranian regime's mechanisms for receiving payments for oil and other commodities, thereby increasing costs and reducing revenue for the regime's destabilizing activities, and expose individuals involved in facilitating the regime's abuse of the international financial system.
Shadow banking networks enable the transfer of tens of billions of dollars to evade sanctions. They enable Iran's military forces, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to illicitly access the international financial system to obtain proceeds from illicit oil sales, acquire sensitive components for missiles and other weapons systems, and fund Iran's terrorist proxy groups throughout the Middle East.
Iranian banks cut off from the international financial system rely on private companies known as 'rahbars,' which manage thousands of overseas shell companies used to execute payments for Iranian imports and exports. These rahbars use shell company accounts held at foreign banks in key financial jurisdictions to aid sanctioned Iranian banks in illicitly accessing the formal international financial system. The rahbar companies closely coordinate with Iranian exchange houses and a myriad of front companies in multiple jurisdictions to facilitate payments for Iran's sanctioned trade, including on behalf of the IRGC, Iran's Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS), Iran's National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), and other sanctioned entities.
The U.S.-targeted companies are Farab Soroush Afagh Qeshm Company (FSAQ), the rahbar company for Shahr Bank; Fratello Carbone Trading Limited, which has transferred more than $20 million dollars on behalf of NIOC; RQI Commodity HK Limited, which is associated with Bank Melli; Gasolix International Corporation Limited, which has been used to move NIOC proceeds; Globenture Limited and Redwing Global Limited, which are front companies that operate as part of the clandestine banking network operated by Bank Melli; and Nooseb Trade Limited, which has been used to receive petroleum or petroleum-product related payments.
OFAC is also taking action against two front companies operating within Iran's clandestine banking system, Nix Energy Limited and Tai Lung Trading Limited.
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