The United States has imposed sanctions on eight Canada-based money services businesses accused of helping Iran circumvent financial restrictions through cryptocurrency transactions and international currency transfers.
Announced on November 6, 2026, the designations were issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under Operation Economic Outcast, an initiative targeting financial networks connected to the Iranian government. Treasury alleges that the businesses exchanged Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets, allowing sanctioned entities to move funds across international borders.
Several allegedly conducted transactions with cryptocurrency addresses associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and previously sanctioned Iranian exchanges. The action was coordinated with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Canada’s financial intelligence agency FINTRAC and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
The sanctions block the designated firms’ US-linked assets and generally prohibit American individuals and businesses from transacting with them.
Eight Canadian Businesses Accused of Facilitating Illicit Crypto Transfers
The sanctioned entities include Diverse Trade Inc., operating as Million Exchange; 1380079 BC Limited and Top PC Technician Inc., associated with Amin Exchange; NIA Nations Currency Ltd.; 2397639 Ontario Ltd., operating as Farah Exchange; CCC Inc.; B Galaxy Inc., operating as Cryptoyal; and Darvish Exchange.
The businesses operate primarily in Ontario and British Columbia, with reported activity involving Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. According to Treasury, cryptocurrency addresses associated with Million Exchange transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to wallets linked to the IRGC or other terrorism-related entities.
Amin Exchange allegedly received substantial digital asset transfers from Shelbit, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange previously sanctioned by Washington. NIA Nations reportedly interacted with addresses associated with Nobitex, Wallex, Ramzinex and Bitpin, four Iranian exchanges sanctioned earlier in 2026.
Farah Exchange allegedly transferred funds to sanctioned Iranian platforms and addresses connected to illicit activity. Treasury also identified transactions involving Darvish Exchange and several previously sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency businesses. The department said some designated firms changed business names or operating addresses despite earlier warnings about sanctions-evasion risks.
These allegations form the basis of the sanctions designations and have not been independently adjudicated in criminal proceedings.
US Expands Crackdown to Drug Laundering and Global Crypto Networks
Treasury’s announcement also linked several designated businesses to Canadian drug trafficker and former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding. Authorities allege that Wedding used money exchange operators in Canada to convert cash from drug trafficking into cryptocurrency before transferring the proceeds internationally.
Treasury said some of the sanctioned firms processed millions of dollars associated with his network. The November 6 action follows earlier sanctions against Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex in June, and Aban Tether Exchange and Shelbit in August.
Washington has increasingly focused on cryptocurrency intermediaries that allegedly provide sanctioned entities with access to international payment networks. In a separate action announced the same day, FinCEN restricted Seychelles-incorporated cryptocurrency exchange MEXC Global’s access to the US financial system.
FinCEN alleged that MEXC had facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions associated with sanctions evasion and cybercrime. The Canadian designations also create compliance obligations for cryptocurrency exchanges and financial institutions that may encounter funds associated with the sanctioned businesses.
Under OFAC rules, US persons generally cannot conduct transactions involving designated entities without authorization. For the cryptocurrency industry, the measures demonstrate how sanctions enforcement increasingly extends beyond individual blockchain addresses to businesses providing fiat-to-crypto conversion services.
The broader implications will depend on enforcement, international cooperation and the ability of financial institutions to identify transactions involving sanctioned intermediaries.
