The US Department of Justice is seeking forfeiture of more than $61 million in Tether's USDT stablecoin, alleging the funds originated from black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian oil and were intended to finance Iran's government and military, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to the DOJ's complaint, two Hong Kong-incorporated entities—Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale—allegedly used Binance accounts to move proceeds from oil sold to buyers in China. A network of related addresses reportedly received and distributed more than $1.5 billion, including transfers to IRGC-linked money-transfer businesses, cryptocurrency addresses, and an Iranian exchange.
Tether froze approximately 61.19 million USDT across 10 addresses on the Tron network in 2025, according to the complaint. A seizure warrant authorizes the FBI to take custody of the assets through destruction of the frozen tokens and issuance of replacement tokens to an FBI-controlled hardware wallet.
A Binance spokesperson stated that the exchange does not permit transactions with sanctioned individuals and cooperates with law enforcement to investigate, restrict, or freeze accounts as appropriate. The spokesperson noted that the case was not filed against Binance and did not allege wrongdoing by the exchange.
The DOJ stated that allegations in the civil forfeiture complaint remain unproven. The US would obtain permanent ownership of the assets only if a court enters a forfeiture judgment in the government's favor.
The enforcement action follows the US Treasury's August expansion of its Iran sanctions framework to address the country's digital asset sector, granting US authorities power to target foreign individuals and companies operating in or supporting the sector. In August, Treasury officials alleged that a UAE-based broker had processed more than $100 million in cryptocurrency payments since 2023 to facilitate Iranian oil sales.
The action occurs amid ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which has disrupted energy infrastructure and oil shipments across the Middle East. At the time of the complaint, Brent crude traded at approximately $107.59 per barrel, up 1.81%, while US West Texas Intermediate traded near $103.35, up 1.93%.
