US sanctions Canadian money-exchange firms over Iran ties

The US Treasury imposed financial sanctions on eight Canadian money-service companies it claims have done business with sanctioned ‌Iranian entities.These companies facilitated the exchange of Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets, enabling international transactions, a US Treasury Department statement said on Friday.The sanctions, which serve to isolate the companies from the dollar-based financial system, are the latest in a series of Treasury moves against firms outside the US.These businesses have facilitated transactions with sanctioned Iranian digital asset exchanges, as well as with digital asset addresses associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the Treasury.Bessent says Canada cannot be a safe havenRelated: US plans to seize $1B in crypto linked to Iran this week: Scott Bessent“Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime’s financial channels anywhere in the world.”Cointelegraph reported in August that the Treasury Department...