The US Treasury just pulled back the curtain on a sprawling sanctions-evasion operation that connects Iranian oil money, gold-backed tokens, and crypto exchanges processing tens of billions of dollars. On July 24, OFAC designated four individuals and nine entities tied to Babak Zanjani, a figure whose financial empire has been a persistent headache for Western sanctions enforcers for over a decade.
The designations target Zanjani’s conglomerate, Dot One Value Creation Group, along with associated companies like DotOne Gold Company and Zedpay, plus a constellation of offshore entities that collectively serve as the plumbing for his network.
A $94 billion problem hiding in plain sight
Here’s what makes this particular action notable for anyone in crypto: two digital asset exchanges at the center of this network, Zedcex and Zedxion, have processed over $94 billion in transactions since 2022. The January 2026 designation of Zedcex and Zedxion marked the first time OFAC had gone after digital asset exchanges specifically tied to IRGC activities. This latest round of designations goes after the supporting infrastructure, the financial services companies, gold operations, and transportation entities that keep the machine running.
