The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint on September 14 seeking approximately $61.2 million in cryptocurrency. Prosecutors allege the assets represent proceeds from sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum product sales that were intended to support the Iranian government and its military apparatus, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The action names ten TRON network addresses holding a combined 61,192,367.59 USDT as defendants in rem. Tether had already frozen the wallets prior to the filing, with two addresses restricted in July 2025 and the remaining eight in June 2025. A seizure warrant issued the same day by a federal magistrate judge authorizes the FBI to take custody of the tokens. Authorities expect Tether to burn the existing USDT and issue an equivalent amount for transfer into a government-controlled hardware wallet in the Southern District of New York.

Alleged Network and Facilitators

Prosecutors describe the $61 million as one portion of a broader financial network they internally labeled “Entity A.” That network of linked unhosted cryptocurrency wallets allegedly received and distributed more than $1.5 billion in proceeds from illicit Iranian oil sales. Investigators say the funds moved to an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange, addresses associated with the IRGC, and money transmitters identified as IRGC fronts.

Two companies incorporated in Hong Kong—Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited—allegedly played central roles. Blessed Trust presented itself to financial institutions as a wealth-management or virtual-asset custody provider. Hexa Whale portrayed itself as a commodities broker. Both firms used trading accounts on Binance to convert and move oil-related proceeds, according to the complaint. Clients of the companies included Chinese oil and petroleum product firms.

Court filings detail substantial fiat transfers involving the two entities. One Hong Kong company allegedly sent roughly $37.15 million to Hexa Whale across 11 wire transfers in March and April 2024. Approximately $443.49 million moved from the same company to Blessed Trust through 32 transactions between November 2024 and March 2025. Certain internal transfers also passed through U.S.-based correspondent accounts. Prosecutors state the companies lacked required OFAC licenses.

Buckley further stated that Iran relies on black-market sales of sanctioned crude to fund its military, foster terrorism, and advance nuclear and ballistic-missile programs. FBI New York Field Office officials described the case as evidence of their capacity to track cryptocurrency networks used to circumvent sanctions.

Binance Position and Prior Scrutiny

Binance is not named as a defendant in the civil forfeiture action. The exchange has stated it maintains zero tolerance for sanctions violations and does not permit transactions with sanctioned individuals. A spokesperson said the company will continue cooperating with law enforcement, investigating identified risks, restricting or freezing accounts where appropriate, offboarding users, and reporting to authorities.

Earlier in 2026, Binance publicly rejected related allegations involving the same two companies. In response to a Senate inquiry, the exchange described certain media claims as demonstrably false and defamatory. Binance said it offboarded Hexa Whale in August 2025 and Blessed Trust in January 2026 following separate internal compliance reviews prompted by law-enforcement requests. The company maintained that, to its knowledge, no Binance account had transacted directly with an Iran-based entity and that Iranian residents are prohibited from using the platform.

The current complaint alleges the companies used Binance accounts as part of the network but does not charge the exchange with criminal conduct. The case remains a civil proceeding against the cryptocurrency assets themselves; the underlying allegations are unproven until a court enters judgment for the United States.

Broader Enforcement Context

The forfeiture filing occurs against a backdrop of intensified U.S. measures targeting Iranian financial channels. Earlier in 2026, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated several Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, including Nobitex, citing processing of funds linked to the IRGC and other sanctioned actors. Treasury also launched Operation Economic Outcast in late August, explicitly including digital-asset activity among the channels under scrutiny for facilitating Iranian oil sales or sanctions evasion.

One address within the Entity A network was linked in the complaint to a financial structure controlled by Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars, an Iranian firm previously sanctioned by the Treasury as an oil-sales arm connected to Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff. OFAC has repeatedly targeted companies and vessels accused of assisting such sales.

The civil case and seizure warrant represent distinct procedural stages. The warrant allows investigators to secure the property, while the forfeiture complaint seeks a judicial determination transferring ownership of the USDT to the government under federal forfeiture statutes.