The US Treasury announced new sanctions today on the '"shadow banking" network used by Iran's Defense Ministry and the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Treasury's announcement reads, "Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning nearly 50 entities and individuals that constitute multiple branches of a sprawling 'shadow banking' network used by Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to gain illicit access to the international financial system and process the equivalent of billions of dollars since 2020. MODAFL and the IRGC engage in several commercial revenue-generating activities, most notably the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemicals."
"Networks of Iranian exchange houses and dozens of foreign cover companies under their control enable MODAFL and the IRGC to disguise the revenue they generate abroad that is then available to use for a range of MODAFL and IRGC activities, including the procurement and development of advanced weapons systems such as unmanned aerial vehicles. This revenue also supports the provision of weapons and funding to Iran’s regional proxy groups, including Yemen’s Houthis, who continue a campaign of reckless attacks on global shipping, as well as the transfer of UAVs to Russia for use in its war of aggression against Ukraine."
“The United States is taking action against a vast shadow banking system used by Iran’s military to launder billions of dollars of oil proceeds and other illicit revenue,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “We have sanctioned hundreds of targets involved in Iran’s illicit oil and petrochemical-related activity since President Biden took office, and we will continue to pursue those who seek to finance Iran’s destabilizing terrorist activities. We continue to work with allies and partners, as well as the global financial industry, to increase vigilance against the movement of funds supporting terrorism.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised the Treasury's announcement and stated, "I welcome today’s sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department on the shadow financial networks of Iran’s Defense Ministry and of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It is an important step in the fight against the Iranian regime and its efforts to finance terror, proliferate armaments, and destabilize the Middle East and the rest of the world. Strong international cooperation is the key to tackling the Iranian threat."