The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on two Iranian financial intermediaries and more than a dozen individuals and entities based in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for their involvement in facilitating the transfer of funds that benefit the IRGC-Qods Force (QF) and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) of Iran.
“Iranian entities rely on shadow banking networks to evade sanctions and move millions through the international financial system,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.
Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand, Iranian nationals, are among the individuals sanctioned by OFAC. According to OFAC, they coordinated the purchase of cryptocurrency worth over $100 million for the Iranian government to sell oil.
Alivand has been a financial intermediary and oil agent for the Syrian company Al-Qatirji, which has been a key partner of the IRGC-QF in the sale of Iranian oil. In 2023, Alivand facilitated a payment from Minato Commercial Brokers, a shell company currently controlled by Alireza Derakhshan, to an account at Al-Qatirji.
