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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"90b7444c-5ec3-433f-a324-12a58ea2a619","kind":"publish","page_slug":"blessed-trust-hexa-whale","published_at":"2026-09-15T12:12:21.099Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Blessed Trust & Hexa Whale","sections":[{"content":"Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited are both incorporated in Hong Kong. According to the September 14, 2026 civil forfeiture complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (case 1:26-cv-08010), Blessed Trust presented itself to financial-services counterparties as a wealth-management and virtual-asset custody provider, while allegedly offering fiat-to-crypto conversion services for Iran-linked transactions. Hexa Whale described itself as a commodities brokerage but is alleged to have performed materially similar conversion and layering functions. Prosecutors allege that both entities used trading accounts at Binance to convert proceeds from Iranian crude oil and petroleum sales into cryptocurrency. Fortune separately reported in March 2026 that Blessed Trust also performed back-office functions — including payroll and tax administration — for Binance, and that a related entity, 'Blessed Services,' shared device access with two Chinese VIP trader accounts on the platform. The identities of any controlling individuals behind either entity were not publicly named in the complaint or in the news coverage available as of the complaint's filing date.","heading":"Background and Alleged Business Facades","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"US Seeks to Forfeit $61M in Crypto Tied to Iranian Oil — The Crypto Times","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/09/15/us-seeks-to-forfeit-61m-in-crypto-tied-to-sanctioned-iranian-oil-sales/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Inside the Binance accounts internal investigators say helped transfer more than $1 billion to Iran-linked entities — Fortune","type":"news_article","url":"https://fortune.com/2026/03/12/binance-accounts-iranian-entities-sanctions-chinese-vips-gold-smuggler/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Files $61 Million Forfeiture Case Over Iran Oil Crypto Proceeds — Blockonomi","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockonomi.com/doj-files-61-million-forfeiture-case-over-iran-oil-crypto-proceeds"}]},{"content":"The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint on September 14, 2026, styled United States v. All USD Tether Held in the Following Cryptocurrency Addresses, case number 1:26-cv-08010, before Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. A seizure warrant was issued the same day, authorizing the FBI to take custody of the assets. The complaint is a civil in rem action targeting 61,192,367.59 USDT held across ten TRON addresses; it does not name Blessed Trust or Hexa Whale as defendants — the defendant-in-rem is the cryptocurrency itself. No criminal charges against any individual or entity have been reported in connection with this specific complaint as of September 15, 2026. Civil forfeiture proceedings are allegations; no adjudication of wrongdoing has occurred, and a court must determine whether the government is entitled to retain the seized funds.","heading":"Civil Forfeiture Complaint — Legal Status and Scope","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. DOJ seeks $61M in alleged Iran oil crypto proceeds — Crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/u-s-doj-seeks-61m-in-alleged-iran-oil-crypto-proceeds/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seeks Forfeiture of $61M USDT Tied to Iranian Oil Proceeds — Crypto Adventure","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoadventure.com/doj-seeks-forfeiture-of-61m-usdt-tied-to-iranian-oil-proceeds-routed-through-binance/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"US DOJ seeks $61 million in crypto proceeds from illicit Iranian oil sales — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-15-doj-61-million-crypto-proceeds-iranian-oil-sales-414768"}]},{"content":"The forfeiture complaint describes at least seven interconnected unhosted cryptocurrency addresses, grouped by investigators as 'Entity A,' which the government alleges received and distributed more than $1.5 billion in proceeds from sanctioned Iranian oil sales. Prosecutors allege that Entity A sent funds to: (1) the Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex; (2) IRGC-related cryptocurrency addresses; and (3) money-services businesses the government describes as IRGC fronts. The complaint also references Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars — an Iranian company designated by OFAC in 2023 for materially supporting Iran's Armed Forces General Staff — as connected to one of the Entity A wallet addresses. According to the complaint and supporting news reporting, a Hong Kong-registered company ('Company-1' in the complaint) transferred approximately $37.15 million to Hexa Whale across 11 wire transfers in March–April 2024, and approximately $443.49 million to Blessed Trust across 32 transactions between November 2024 and March 2025. Internal Hexa Whale transfers routed through U.S. correspondent accounts totaled approximately $22.2 million and $5.3 million in separate tranches. Fortune reported that Blessed Trust alone facilitated approximately $1.2 billion in flows to Entity A, while Hexa Whale sent approximately $500 million. The $61.2 million subject to the forfeiture complaint represents only a fraction of the alleged total network, consisting of residual USDT frozen by Tether before fund movements could be completed.","heading":"Alleged Laundering Network — Entity A and Transaction Flow","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seeks $61M in USDT Allegedly Laundered From Iranian Oil Sales — Blockfence","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockfence.io/doj-seeks-61m-in-usdt-allegedly-laundered-from-iranian-oil-sales/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seeks Forfeiture of $61M USDT Tied to Iranian Oil Proceeds — Crypto Adventure","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoadventure.com/doj-seeks-forfeiture-of-61m-usdt-tied-to-iranian-oil-proceeds-routed-through-binance/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Inside the Binance accounts internal investigators say helped transfer more than $1 billion to Iran-linked entities — Fortune","type":"news_article","url":"https://fortune.com/2026/03/12/binance-accounts-iranian-entities-sanctions-chinese-vips-gold-smuggler/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Treasury Targets Oil Network Generating Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Iran's Military — U.S. Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0015"}]},{"content":"Tether froze all ten TRON addresses named in the forfeiture complaint prior to the complaint's filing date. Eight addresses were frozen on June 15, 2025, and two additional addresses were frozen on July 26, 2025. The total frozen amount is 61,192,367.59 USDT. Individual wallet balances range from approximately $1 million to $12.75 million USDT. The FBI was authorized to take formal custody of these assets under the seizure warrant issued September 14, 2026. Tether is not named in the forfeiture complaint and cooperated with the freeze.","heading":"Tether Asset Freeze","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. DOJ seeks $61M in alleged Iran oil crypto proceeds — Crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/u-s-doj-seeks-61m-in-alleged-iran-oil-crypto-proceeds/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seeks Forfeiture of $61M USDT Tied to Iranian Oil Proceeds — Crypto Adventure","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoadventure.com/doj-seeks-forfeiture-of-61m-usdt-tied-to-iranian-oil-proceeds-routed-through-binance/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"US Seeks to Forfeit $61M in Crypto Tied to Iranian Oil — The Crypto Times","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/09/15/us-seeks-to-forfeit-61m-in-crypto-tied-to-sanctioned-iranian-oil-sales/"}]},{"content":"Both Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale held accounts on Binance. The exchange is not named as a defendant in the forfeiture complaint, and Binance stated it cooperated with law enforcement. According to Binance, Hexa Whale was offboarded on August 13, 2025, following an internal investigation, and Blessed Trust was removed in January 2026 after a separate review triggered by law-enforcement inquiries. Binance stated it 'categorically did not directly transact with any sanctioned entities' and reported reducing its Iran-exchange exposure by 97.3% between January 2024 and July 2025. Internal news reporting from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Fortune — published in February and March 2026 — alleged that Binance compliance staff had raised concerns about these accounts earlier and that investigators who flagged prohibited Iran-linked transactions were subsequently suspended or fired. Binance called those reports 'false and defamatory' and filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal in or around March 2026. That litigation was ongoing as of the forfeiture complaint's filing date; no court has adjudicated the accuracy of the underlying compliance reporting. Circle (USDC issuer) separately terminated Blessed Trust as a customer in 2025, according to Fortune.","heading":"Binance Platform Exposure and Offboarding","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"US DOJ seeks $61 million in crypto proceeds from illicit Iranian oil sales — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-15-doj-61-million-crypto-proceeds-iranian-oil-sales-414768"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Inside the Binance accounts internal investigators say helped transfer more than $1 billion to Iran-linked entities — Fortune","type":"news_article","url":"https://fortune.com/2026/03/12/binance-accounts-iranian-entities-sanctions-chinese-vips-gold-smuggler/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Binance says Blumenthal Iran sanctions probe relies on 'demonstrably false' reporting — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-03-06-binance-blumenthal-iranian-sanctions-violation-probe-response-392685"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Investigating if Iran Used Binance to Evade Sanctions — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/360680/doj-investigating-if-iran-used-binance-to-evade-sanctions-wsj"}]},{"content":"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The forfeiture complaint alleges that a portion of the funds processed by Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale was directed toward IRGC-linked money-services businesses and toward Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange. On June 2, 2026, OFAC designated Nobitex — along with Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex — under Executive Order 13224 (counterterrorism) and Executive Order 13902 (Iran's financial sector) for facilitating transactions connected to IRGC affiliates, including ransomware actors. Treasury stated that Nobitex processed more than 50% of all Iranian digital-asset inflows during 2025. Nobitex co-founders Seyed Mohammad Ali Aghamir and Seyed Mohammad Aghamir are members of the Kharrazi family, described by OFAC as part of Supreme Leader Khamenei's inner circle. OFAC's Nobitex designation predates but is contextually linked to the Blessed Trust / Hexa Whale forfeiture action. Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars, sanctioned by OFAC in November 2023 as an oil-sales front for Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, is identified in the forfeiture complaint as connected to one of the Entity A wallet addresses.","heading":"IRGC Designation and Nobitex Sanctions Context","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Economic Fury Targets Iran's Largest Digital Asset Exchange for Terror Finance and Sanctions Evasion — U.S. Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0519"},{"credibility":2,"name":"OFAC sanctions Nobitex and three other Iranian cryptoasset exchanges — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/insights/ofac-sanctions-nobitex-and-three-other-iranian-cryptoasset-exchanges/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Treasury Targets Oil Network Generating Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Iran's Military — U.S. Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0015"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seeks Forfeiture of $61M USDT Tied to Iranian Oil Proceeds — Crypto Adventure","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoadventure.com/doj-seeks-forfeiture-of-61m-usdt-tied-to-iranian-oil-proceeds-routed-through-binance/"}]},{"content":"In February 2026, Senator Richard Blumenthal (Ranking Member, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations) opened a formal inquiry into Binance after media reports identified Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust as accounts that allegedly moved more than $1.7 billion to Iran proxies and Russia's shadow fleet. In June 2026, Senator Adam Schiff and colleagues wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and DOJ raising additional concerns about Binance's role and potential conflicts of interest. In August 2026, the U.S. Treasury designated digital assets as a sanctionable sector of the Iranian economy. The DOJ was separately reported by the Wall Street Journal in March 2026 to be investigating whether Iran used Binance to evade U.S. sanctions; that investigation's scope — whether it targets Binance itself or only its customers — had not been publicly confirmed as of the September 14 forfeiture filing. Binance disputed the Senate inquiry's factual basis and characterized the underlying media reports as 'demonstrably false.'","heading":"Congressional and Executive Scrutiny of the Broader Binance Ecosystem","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Blumenthal Opens Inquiry After New Reporting Reveals Binance Allowed $1.7 Billion in Money Laundering to Iran Proxies — Sen. Blumenthal","type":"official","url":"https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-opens-inquiry-after-new-reporting-reveals-binance-allowed-17-billion-in-money-laundering-to-iran-proxies-and-russias-shadow-fleet"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Sen. Blumenthal presses DOJ and Treasury on Binance monitor amid Iran sanctions concerns — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-04-17-sen-blumenthal-presses-doj-and-treasury-on-binance-monitor-amid-iran-sanctions-concerns-397915"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Investigating if Iran Used Binance to Evade Sanctions — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/360680/doj-investigating-if-iran-used-binance-to-evade-sanctions-wsj"},{"credibility":1,"name":"2026.02.24 Binance Iran Sanctions Evasion Letter — HSGAC","type":"official","url":"https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026.02.24-Binance-Iran-Sanctions-Evasion-to-Send.pdf"}]},{"content":"As of September 15, 2026, the forfeiture complaint is an unproven allegation. No court has adjudicated the facts. No individual controlling persons behind Blessed Trust or Hexa Whale have been publicly named in any enforcement action. The precise identity of 'Company-1' (the Hong Kong petroleum company alleged to have wired hundreds of millions to both entities) has not been disclosed in public reporting. The full list of TRON wallet addresses named in the complaint has not been reproduced in available news coverage. It is not yet known whether Blessed Trust or Hexa Whale have filed or will file responses to the forfeiture complaint. The DOJ's broader investigation into Binance's institutional conduct remains ongoing and unresolved. This page should be updated as the forfeiture proceeding advances and if criminal charges are filed.","heading":"Limitations and Open Questions","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"US DOJ seeks $61 million in crypto proceeds from illicit Iranian oil sales — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-15-doj-61-million-crypto-proceeds-iranian-oil-sales-414768"},{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. DOJ seeks $61M in what it calls Iran's crypto-laundered black market oil sales — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/15/u-s-doj-seeks-usd61-million-in-what-it-calls-crypto-laundered-iranian-oil-proceeds"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. DOJ seeks $61M in alleged Iran oil crypto proceeds — Crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/u-s-doj-seeks-61m-in-alleged-iran-oil-crypto-proceeds/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"US DOJ seeks $61 million in crypto proceeds from illicit Iranian oil sales — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-15-doj-61-million-crypto-proceeds-iranian-oil-sales-414768"},{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. DOJ seeks $61M in what it calls Iran's crypto-laundered black market oil sales — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/15/u-s-doj-seeks-usd61-million-in-what-it-calls-crypto-laundered-iranian-oil-proceeds"},{"credibility":1,"name":"DOJ Says Millions in Iranian Oil Proceeds Laundered on Binance — Bloomberg","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-14/doj-says-millions-in-iranian-oil-proceeds-laundered-on-binance"},{"credibility":1,"name":"U.S. seeks to seize $61 million of crypto it claims are proceeds from Iranian petroleum sales to Chinese buyers — CNBC","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/15/us-attorney-crypto-tether-iran-china-.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Inside the Binance accounts internal investigators say helped transfer more than $1 billion to Iran-linked entities — Fortune","type":"news_article","url":"https://fortune.com/2026/03/12/binance-accounts-iranian-entities-sanctions-chinese-vips-gold-smuggler/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Files $61 Million Forfeiture Case Over Iran Oil Crypto Proceeds — Blockonomi","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockonomi.com/doj-files-61-million-forfeiture-case-over-iran-oil-crypto-proceeds"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seeks Forfeiture of $61M USDT Tied to Iranian Oil Proceeds — Crypto Adventure","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoadventure.com/doj-seeks-forfeiture-of-61m-usdt-tied-to-iranian-oil-proceeds-routed-through-binance/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seeks $61M in USDT Allegedly Laundered From Iranian Oil Sales — Blockfence","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockfence.io/doj-seeks-61m-in-usdt-allegedly-laundered-from-iranian-oil-sales/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"US Seeks to Forfeit $61M in Crypto Tied to Iranian Oil — The Crypto Times","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/09/15/us-seeks-to-forfeit-61m-in-crypto-tied-to-sanctioned-iranian-oil-sales/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Economic Fury Targets Iran's Largest Digital Asset Exchange for Terror Finance and Sanctions Evasion — U.S. Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0519"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Treasury Targets Oil Network Generating Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Iran's Military — U.S. Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0015"},{"credibility":2,"name":"OFAC sanctions Nobitex and three other Iranian cryptoasset exchanges — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/insights/ofac-sanctions-nobitex-and-three-other-iranian-cryptoasset-exchanges/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"OFAC Sanctions Iran's Four Largest Crypto Exchanges — Scorechain","type":"research","url":"https://www.scorechain.com/blog/ofac-iran-crypto-sanctions-june-2026"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Blumenthal Opens Inquiry After New Reporting Reveals Binance Allowed $1.7 Billion in Money Laundering to Iran Proxies — Sen. Blumenthal","type":"official","url":"https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-opens-inquiry-after-new-reporting-reveals-binance-allowed-17-billion-in-money-laundering-to-iran-proxies-and-russias-shadow-fleet"},{"credibility":1,"name":"2026.02.24 Binance Iran Sanctions Evasion Letter — HSGAC","type":"official","url":"https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026.02.24-Binance-Iran-Sanctions-Evasion-to-Send.pdf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Sen. Blumenthal presses DOJ and Treasury on Binance monitor amid Iran sanctions concerns — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-04-17-sen-blumenthal-presses-doj-and-treasury-on-binance-monitor-amid-iran-sanctions-concerns-397915"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Binance says Blumenthal Iran sanctions probe relies on 'demonstrably false' reporting — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-03-06-binance-blumenthal-iranian-sanctions-violation-probe-response-392685"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Investigating if Iran Used Binance to Evade Sanctions — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/360680/doj-investigating-if-iran-used-binance-to-evade-sanctions-wsj"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seeks to Seize $61M in Iran Oil Funds From Binance Accounts — BeinCrypto","type":"news_article","url":"https://beincrypto.com/doj-61m-binance-iran-forfeiture/"}],"summary":"Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited are two Hong Kong-incorporated entities that U.S. federal prosecutors allege served as the central laundering vehicles for over $1.5 billion in proceeds from sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum sales. On September 14, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint (case 1:26-cv-08010) seeking $61,192,367.59 USDT frozen across ten TRON addresses, with Tether having already frozen those assets in June and July 2025. The allegations, which remain unproven in court, describe both entities routing funds through Binance accounts to IRGC-linked money-services businesses and the Iranian exchange Nobitex; Binance offboarded both companies and is not named as a defendant.","timeline":[{"date":"2023-11-29","event":"OFAC designates Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars — an Iranian oil-sales front for the Armed Forces General Staff — as a sanctioned entity. The forfeiture complaint later identifies one of the Entity A wallet addresses as linked to Sepehr Energy.","source":"U.S. Treasury press release","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0015"},{"date":"2024-03-01","event":"According to the forfeiture complaint, Hong Kong Company-1 begins transferring funds to Hexa Whale; approximately $37.15 million moves across 11 wire transfers through March–April 2024.","source":"Blockonomi / Crypto Adventure (citing complaint)","source_url":"https://blockonomi.com/doj-files-61-million-forfeiture-case-over-iran-oil-crypto-proceeds"},{"date":"2024-11-01","event":"According to the forfeiture complaint, Hong Kong Company-1 begins transferring funds to Blessed Trust; approximately $443.49 million moves across 32 transactions through March 2025.","source":"Blockonomi / Crypto Adventure (citing complaint)","source_url":"https://cryptoadventure.com/doj-seeks-forfeiture-of-61m-usdt-tied-to-iranian-oil-proceeds-routed-through-binance/"},{"date":"2025-06-15","event":"Tether freezes eight of the ten TRON addresses that will later be named in the SDNY forfeiture complaint, locking a combined portion of the eventual $61.19 million USDT total.","source":"Crypto.news (citing complaint)","source_url":"https://crypto.news/u-s-doj-seeks-61m-in-alleged-iran-oil-crypto-proceeds/"},{"date":"2025-07-26","event":"Tether freezes the remaining two TRON addresses, completing the pre-complaint asset freeze across all ten wallets.","source":"Crypto.news (citing complaint)","source_url":"https://crypto.news/u-s-doj-seeks-61m-in-alleged-iran-oil-crypto-proceeds/"},{"date":"2025-08-13","event":"Binance offboards Hexa Whale Trading Limited following an internal investigation.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-15-doj-61-million-crypto-proceeds-iranian-oil-sales-414768"},{"date":"2025-01-01","event":"Circle terminates Blessed Trust as a customer, according to Fortune reporting.","source":"Fortune","source_url":"https://fortune.com/2026/03/12/binance-accounts-iranian-entities-sanctions-chinese-vips-gold-smuggler/"},{"date":"2026-01-01","event":"Binance offboards Blessed Trust Limited following a separate compliance review triggered by law-enforcement inquiries.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-15-doj-61-million-crypto-proceeds-iranian-oil-sales-414768"},{"date":"2026-02-24","event":"Senator Richard Blumenthal sends a formal inquiry letter to Binance CEO Richard Teng regarding reports that Binance facilitated large-scale Iran sanctions evasion, citing Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust by name.","source":"HSGAC / Blumenthal Senate office","source_url":"https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026.02.24-Binance-Iran-Sanctions-Evasion-to-Send.pdf"},{"date":"2026-03-06","event":"Binance calls the Blumenthal inquiry 'demonstrably false' and disputes the underlying media reports. The exchange says it had already removed both entities from its platform.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/news/markets/2026-03-06-binance-blumenthal-iranian-sanctions-violation-probe-response-392685"},{"date":"2026-03-11","event":"The Wall Street Journal reports that the DOJ is investigating whether Iran used Binance to evade U.S. sanctions; Binance files a defamation lawsuit against the WSJ.","source":"CoinDesk / Decrypt","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/360680/doj-investigating-if-iran-used-binance-to-evade-sanctions-wsj"},{"date":"2026-03-12","event":"Fortune publishes an investigation detailing how Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale allegedly processed over $1.7 billion for Iran-linked entities, including details on a 79-year-old Chinese VIP trader and a suspected Iranian gold smuggler as associated account holders.","source":"Fortune","source_url":"https://fortune.com/2026/03/12/binance-accounts-iranian-entities-sanctions-chinese-vips-gold-smuggler/"},{"date":"2026-06-02","event":"OFAC designates Nobitex (Iran's largest crypto exchange), Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex under E.O. 13224 and E.O. 13902 for facilitating IRGC-linked transactions. The Nobitex designation is directly relevant to the downstream recipients alleged in the Blessed Trust / Hexa Whale complaint.","source":"U.S. Treasury press release","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0519"},{"date":"2026-09-14","event":"U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York files civil forfeiture complaint 1:26-cv-08010, seeking $61,192,367.59 USDT frozen across ten TRON addresses. A seizure warrant is issued the same day authorizing FBI custody. The complaint names Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale as central laundering vehicles and describes an alleged $1.5 billion network.","source":"Multiple news sources (citing complaint)","source_url":"https://crypto.news/u-s-doj-seeks-61m-in-alleged-iran-oil-crypto-proceeds/"}]},"v":1}