The U.S. has imposed sanctions on eight Canadian money service businesses involved in transactions with Iran, targeting their role in facilitating cryptocurrency conversions.

On November 7, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced financial sanctions—jointly with Canada’s Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC)—against eight Canadian money service businesses. These firms are accused of providing financial services to sanctioned Iranian entities, including facilitating the conversion of fiat currencies such as the Iranian rial into crypto assets to enable cross-border transactions. U.S. authorities stated that the implicated companies helped channel funds between sanctioned Iranian crypto exchanges and digital wallet addresses linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that Canada must not become a safe haven for illicit financial intermediaries seeking to evade sanctions—and that the U.S. will continue dismantling the Iranian regime’s financial networks globally. (Cointelegraph)