U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
For Immediate Release
STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN
March 9, 2023
Designating Iran Sanctions Evasion Networks
We are imposing sanctions on a “shadow banking” network of 39 entities across multiple jurisdictions. These multi-jurisdictional illicit finance systems provide sanctioned Iranian entities access to the international financial system and enable them to obfuscate their trade with foreign customers. Today’s actions, which the Department of the Treasury is undertaking pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13846, demonstrate our commitment to enforce our sanctions on the Iranian regime and disrupt the foreign networks upon which it relies to evade U.S. sanctions.
Iranian currency exchange houses create front companies abroad to enable trade on behalf of their Iranian clients and help them evade U.S. sanctions. Companies utilizing these networks have generated tens of billions of dollars for the Iranian regime across a variety of fields.
The United States will continue to disrupt attempts to evade U.S. sanctions, and we will use the tools at our disposal to protect both the U.S. and international financial system.
For more information about these designations, please see the Department of the Treasury’s press release.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1330
