US Treasury sanctions 35 entities in Iran shadow banking crackdown

Investing.com -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated 35 entities and individuals today that oversee Iran’s shadow banking architecture, which facilitates the movement of tens of billions of dollars tied to sanctions evasion and Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism.

The networks allow Iran’s armed forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to access the international financial system to receive payment for illicit oil sales, purchase sensitive components for missiles and other weapons systems, and transfer money to Iran’s terrorist proxies.

"Iran’s shadow banking system serves as a critical financial lifeline for its armed forces, enabling activities that disrupt global trade and fuel violence across the Middle East," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. "Illicit funds funneled through this network support the regime’s ongoing terrorist operations, posing a direct threat to U.S. personnel, regional allies, and the global economy."

The action was taken pursuant to Executive Order 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran’s financial sector, and Executive Order 13224, a counterterrorism authority. The designations build on OFAC’s January 15, 2026 shadow banking action, which targeted the rahbar networks of Bank Melli and Bank-e Shahr.

Iranian banks cut off from the international financial system rely on private companies known as rahbars, which manage thousands of overseas shell companies used to execute payments for Iranian imports and exports. These rahbars use shell company accounts held at foreign banks in key financial jurisdictions to aid sanctioned Iranian banks in illicitly accessing the formal international financial system.

Farab Soroush Afagh Qeshm Company, the rahbar company for Shahr Bank, oversees the movement of funds for Shahr Bank’s clients via a network of foreign front companies. One such company, HMS Trading FZE, acts on behalf of Shahr Bank to facilitate Iranian oil shipments on behalf of Iran’s state oil companies and security services.

Through 2024, UK-based Shuqun LTD transferred over $70 million worth of payments for Iranian crude oil and oil distillates on behalf of National Iranian Oil Company. Shuqun LTD is owned by Filipino national Janelyn Eusebio Emperador, who owns two other UK-based front companies, Sanovo LTD and Qianza LTD.

OFAC designated the rahbar companies of multiple sanctioned Iranian banks, including Bank Sina and Bank Sepah, a key provider of financing for Iran’s ballistic missile program. The designated rahbar companies include Khavar Tejarat Arka Kish Company, Naghsh Simorgh Sahand LLC, Karmaniya Tejarat Asar Kish Company, Aku Tejarat Ravizh Kish Company, Rahbar Tejari Setareh Taban Kish Company, and Tejarat Sarir Afrooz Kish Company.

Bank Melli’s rahbar network, run by Nikan Pezhvak Aria Kish Company, processes billions of dollars worth of transactions for NIOC, the IRGC, and the Central Bank of Iran. Nikan Pezhvak utilizes multiple front companies to facilitate these transactions, including Fratello Carbone Trading Limited, which has transferred more than $20 million on behalf of NIOC.

Since February 2025, OFAC has sanctioned approximately 1,000 Iran-related persons, vessels, and aircraft as part of this campaign. Alongside today’s action, OFAC issued guidance to warn about sanctions exposure related to making toll payments to the Government of Iran or the IRGC for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

All property and interests in property of the designated persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.

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