US Treasury sanctions eight Canadian money exchange firms over Iran ties

The United States has imposed sanctions on eight Canadian currency-exchange businesses accused of helping Iranian entities circumvent financial sanctions. The US Department of the Treasury announced the measures on Friday as part of what it calls “ Operation Economic Outcast “.

The Treasury said some of the businesses also laundered their proceeds by converting Iranian rials and other currencies into digital assets such as cryptocurrency, adding that some of the businesses helped an alleged head of a drug trafficking ring. “Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

According to the Treasury, the businesses are based in Ontario and British Columbia, and they include Million Exchange, Amin Exchange and Cryptoyal. The sanctions effectively cut the firms off from the US dollar-based financial system, freezing any assets they hold in the US and barring them from transactions with American people or entities.