OFAC designated Amin Exchange, its owner and CEO, and more than 50 related entities, individuals and vessels as part of Washington’s “Economic Fury” campaign against Iran’s financial channels.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Amin Exchange, formally known as Ebrahimi and Associates Partnership Company, along with a wider network of individuals, front companies and vessels tied to Iran’s shadow banking system. Treasury said the action, part of its “Economic Fury” campaign, swept up more than 50 entities, individuals and vessels and was issued under Executive Order 13902, which targets facilitators connected to Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors. Treasury alleges Amin Exchange facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign transactions for already-sanctioned Iranian banks, helping move oil, petrochemical and other trade proceeds through overseas fronts. The designation names owner Yousef Ebrahimi, CEO Samad Nemati, described as a former officer of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as Ali Hazrati Chakherlo and Mahmoud Ebrahimi. Front companies were identified across the UAE, Turkey and China, particularly Hong Kong. The move broadens a pressure campaign that earlier included sanctions on four Iranian digital asset exchanges. This round focused on traditional financial channels rather than crypto wallets or blockchain-based platforms, but it reinforces Treasury’s effort to cut off both conventional and digital routes that could be used to evade sanctions. The inclusion of vessels alongside financial entities also points to an attempt to disrupt logistics and payments at the same time.