The United States Treasury sanctioned eight money services businesses based in Canada on November 6, accusing them of facilitating cryptocurrency transactions for Iranian entities. Treasury's announcement places currency conversion businesses outside Iran at the center of its latest enforcement action.
Cointelegraph circulated the news on November 7. Treasury had announced the action the previous day as part of Operation Economic Outcast.
Currency conversion businesses enter the sanctions net
Treasury says the companies exchanged Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets used in international transactions involving Iran. It alleges that many transacted with sanctioned Iranian exchanges or wallet addresses associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The targets include Million Exchange, Amin Exchange businesses, NIA Nations Currency, Farah Exchange, CCC Inc, B Galaxy Inc and Darvish Exchange. Separate companies operating under related names account for the eight designated businesses.
Treasury imposed the designations under Executive Order 13902. Its account describes businesses providing the conversion and transfer services that connect local currency markets with digital assets.
The action targets a commercial function: an intermediary can face sanctions because of the counterparties its exchange service supports. For businesses assessing exposure, the transaction's destination and the parties involved deserve attention alongside the currency being converted.
Foreign intermediaries face their own exposure
OFAC's published guidance explains that non-US businesses can face sanctions for transactions involving Iranian digital asset exchanges designated under Executive Order 13902.
The guidance identifies two routes. Authorities can designate a person for materially assisting a designated exchange, including providing financial or technological support, goods or services. They can also prohibit or restrict a foreign financial institution's correspondent or payable-through accounts when it knowingly conducts or facilitates a significant financial transaction for such an exchange.
OFAC names Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, Ramzinex and Aban Tether among the exchanges covered by its explanation. It also describes potential statutory sanctions exposure for foreign financial institutions conducting significant transactions with designated Iranian financial institutions.
For an overseas conversion business, these provisions mean that operating outside the United States does not remove the exposure described in OFAC's guidance.
A payment intermediary's practical assessment therefore extends beyond its direct customer. A transaction carried out for another exchange can raise a separate question about that exchange's counterparties. Businesses handling transfers across jurisdictions need to consider those relationships when assessing their sanctions exposure.
Canada's enforcement figures provide a second measure
FINTRAC confirmed that it coordinated with OFAC and the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on the sanctions.
The Canadian agency supplied a broader enforcement count: since the beginning of 2026, it has revoked 161 money services business registrations, exceeding the combined total for the previous three years.
Over the past year, FINTRAC imposed more than $198 million in administrative monetary penalties on nine money services businesses. It cited violations including failure to register and failure to report large virtual currency transactions. Those figures describe its wider enforcement work, rather than penalties assessed against these eight targets.
FINTRAC also reported disclosing 28 cases of money services business non-compliance to law enforcement during the past year.
The agency says legislation passed in March 2026 increased the potential punishment for operating without valid registration. On conviction on indictment, the offence can carry a fine of up to $5 million, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
Together, the figures show Canadian authorities using both registration revocations and financial penalties in their enforcement work. The sanctions announcement comes amid that ongoing effort.
The $20 million reward concerns nuclear intelligence
The news report also mentioned a reward of up to $20 million. That amount belongs to a separate Rewards for Justice notice seeking information about Iran's nuclear program.
The official notice includes possible relocation. It seeks information about facilities, equipment and associated personnel, including members of the scientific community, as well as their movements.
The amount is separate from the financial enforcement action: it is an intelligence reward, not a sanctions penalty, a cryptocurrency seizure or an estimate of transfers processed by the eight firms.
Overview
The November 6 designations target Canadian intermediaries accused of supporting Iran-related digital asset transactions. OFAC's guidance explains the potential exposure for foreign businesses serving designated Iranian exchanges, while FINTRAC's figures document a wider Canadian enforcement effort. Its reported registration revocations reached 161 in 2026.
