The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned key components of Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani’s sanctions-evasion network on Friday, targeting four individuals and nine entities tied to his Dot One conglomerate.
Treasury said Zanjani, a business magnate with diverse interests in financial services, precious metals, transportation and infrastructure, has used his network “to obscure ownership, launder revenue, and expand his capacity to move funds covertly through Iran and offshore.” The newly designated entities include companies in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates that Treasury said supported Zanjani’s previously sanctioned digital asset exchanges.
“The Iranian regime continues to pay a steep economic price for its reckless behavior, with the rial plunging to another record low and inflation up massively,” Scott Bessent, U.S. treasury secretary, stated. “Under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury will continue cutting off economic access for corrupt Iranian regime elites, along with their financiers and facilitators.”
Zanjani was sentenced to death in Iran in 2016 after being convicted of embezzling billions of dollars from the state-run National Iranian Oil Company, but his sentence was commuted in 2024. Since returning to public life, he has financed infrastructure projects and launched the Zedcex and Zedxion digital asset exchanges, which Treasury has accused of laundering funds for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Among the entities sanctioned on Friday are the DotOne Value Creation Group, which serves as Zanjani’s holding company and is involved in logistics, telecommunications, aviation, transportation and digital assets.
DotOne Gold Company, Zanjani’s gold bar minter, producer and custodian company, was also targeted, together with transportation companies DotOne Rail Company, DotOne Barter Company, DotOne Airlines Company and DotOne Trip.
Treasury also designated an Istanbul-based financial technology company and its chairperson, as well as a Dubai-based fintech firm and its manager, for allegedly supporting Zanjani’s financial network.
Also sanctioned were Zanjani’s sister and the Dubai-based diamond trading company she manages, as well as his “significant other,” whom Treasury said registered websites for several of Zanjani’s companies.
