Middle East — 2026-07-29

US Treasury Sanctions Family of Iranian Tycoon Zanjani in IRGC Crypto Network Crackdown

BLUFTreasury's systematic dismantling of Zanjani's reconstitution channels makes additional tranches of IRGC-linked designations very likely through the third quarter of 2026, tightening financial pressure as the rial hits record lows.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated four individuals and nine entities in Iranian financier Babak Zanjani's sanctions-evasion network on Friday, building on the January 30 designation of Zanjani and his exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion 12. The new designations target Zanjani's Tehran-based "Dot One" conglomerate, including holding company Dot One Value Creation Group, gold custodian DotOne Gold Company, and DotOne Rail, Airlines, Barter, and Trip subsidiaries, along with foreign support entities Zedpay in Turkey and Zedx DMCC in the UAE and their respective managers Mehdi Rezazadeh and Sukhrob Oimakhmadov 13. OFAC also designated Zanjani's sister, Bahareh Morteza Zanjani, for managing Dubai-based BZ Diamond FZCO, and his partner, Solmaz Bani, for registering websites for his companies 14. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Iranian rial has fallen to a record low amid rising inflation, and State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott linked the action to Iran's recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz 2. Zanjani denied any commercial relationship with the newly sanctioned foreign entities and individuals in a post on X 4.

Analysis
The layered blacklisting of holding company, gold custodian, and transport subsidiaries alongside foreign payment conduits shows Treasury working to close off the reconstitution channels Zanjani used after January's designation rather than relying on a single strike. Naming family and personal associates as designated parties extends exposure to informal financial and reputational networks that formal corporate designations alone do not reach. Renewed sanctions activity very likely continues through the third quarter of 2026, a judgment made with moderate confidence that rests on Treasury's stated intent to keep cutting off regime-linked financiers and the Zanjani network's demonstrated pattern of reconstituting under new entities after each designation round. Continued rial depreciation and the Strait of Hormuz vessel attacks give Washington both economic leverage and a stated rationale to sustain pressure.

4 sources

Treasury Further Dismantles Iranian Financier Zanjani's Network - U.S. Department of the Treasury
US hits network of Iranian financier Zanjani with more sanctions - Reuters
US Imposes New Sanctions on Iranian Financier Zanjani's Network - Bloomberg
US Sanctions Family of Iranian Tycoon in Crackdown on Alleged IRGC Crypto Network - OCCRP