The U.S. Department of Justice filed a forfeiture lawsuit in the Southern District Court of New York, accusing the relevant crypto assets of being related to proceeds from Iran's oil sales. The prosecution stated that the amount of funds involved exceeds $1.5 billion, of which approximately $61 million in digital assets have been seized.
The case points to two Chinese companies.
The prosecution alleges that two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, participated in fund transfers through an account with the identifier Binance. The former claims to be a wealth management company, while the latter is described as a commodities broker.
Binance claims not to have been charged
Binance was not listed as a defendant. The company's CEO, Richard Teng, stated that the platform has a 'zero tolerance' policy for sanctions violations and mentioned that accounts will be frozen and cooperation with law enforcement agencies will be provided upon detection of suspicious financial risks.
The case is still in the judicial process.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated that some of the funds ultimately ended up in the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, which is listed by the United States as a terrorist organization. This confiscation lawsuit remains a legal charge, and whether the funds will be confiscated will be decided by the court.
