Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated over 30 individuals and entities linked to Iran’s sprawling “shadow banking” infrastructure, including three Iranian brothers accused of laundering billions of dollars through international financial systems to support Iran’s oil exports, weapons procurement, and terrorist proxies.
The action, taken under Executive Orders 13902 and 13846, marks the first major set of designations under National Security Presidential Memorandum-2, which directs the administration’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran.
According to Treasury, the Zarringhalam brothers —Mansour, Nasser, and Fazlolah — operate Iranian exchange houses—GCM Exchange, Berelian Exchange, and Zarrin Ghalam Exchange—and manage front companies in Hong Kong and the UAE. These entities disguise the origins of payments for Iranian oil and petrochemical sales, providing other sanctioned entities with access to foreign currency and international markets.
“Iran’s shadow banking system is a critical lifeline for the regime…Treasury will continue to leverage all available tools to target the critical nodes in this network and disrupt its operations,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The designated entities include:
17 Hong Kong-based front companies involved in illicit payments for sanctioned oil shipments and military-linked transactions.
5 UAE-based entities supporting exchange house operations, including Wide Vision General Trading L.L.C.and Ace Petrochem FZE.
Additional Zarringhalam family members and affiliated entities, including Zarrin Tehran Investment Company and Kimia Sadr Pasargad Company, operating in the oil, gas, and construction sectors.
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