Iran Crypto Sanctions Hit 8 Canadian Firms Tied To Ex-Olympian Drug Lord
The US Treasury sanctioned eight Canadian money exchange shops it says swapped Iranian rials for crypto and moved funds tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and several of them also laundered drug cash for former Olympic snowboarder turned drug trafficker Ryan Wedding.
Key Takeaways
- Treasury’s sanctions office designated eight Canada-based money services businesses on November 6 under Operation Economic Outcast
- Treasury says the firms swap Iranian rials for digital assets and dealt with sanctioned Iranian exchanges Nobitex, Wallex, Ramzinex, Bitpin and Shelbit
- Several of the firms turned bulk drug cash into crypto for Ryan Wedding and sent it abroad, Treasury said
- The action was coordinated with FinCEN, Canada’s FINTRAC and the Drug Enforcement Administration
What Treasury Said
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the eight businesses for operating in the digital asset sector of Iran’s economy, according to the department’s release. It said the firms let sanctioned Iranian entities use their services, giving the regime a financial lifeline.
“Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime’s financial channels anywhere in the world.”
Also Read: Hyperliquid Strategies Files To Become A Futures Broker So Americans Can Trade Perps
The 8 Firms Treasury Named
Treasury said several of the firms changed their names and addresses to dodge detection, and all of them were still operating despite past media warnings about their risks.
The Ex-Olympian Drug Lord Link
Treasury said Wedding, a Canadian drug trafficker already under US sanctions, used money exchange shops around Vancouver and Toronto to launder billions of dollars in drug proceeds. Couriers dropped bulk cash at the firms, which turned it into digital assets and sent it abroad.
Wedding was arrested in January 2026, but Treasury said he worked with several of the newly sanctioned businesses to move millions of dollars in crypto before he was taken into US custody.
A Wider Push Against Iran’s Crypto Channels
Treasury launched Operation Economic Outcast in August to cut off money flowing to Iran’s regime and the IRGC, including its use of crypto to dodge sanctions. The latest action follows June sanctions on Iranian exchanges Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex, and August sanctions on Aban Tether Exchange and Shelbit.
Under the sanctions, any property the eight firms hold in the US or through US persons is frozen, and Americans are barred from dealing with them. Treasury warned that foreign banks and companies that keep doing business with them also risk being hit.
The next thing to watch is whether Canadian regulators move against the same firms at home. Treasury said Canada hosts hundreds of money services businesses that move funds in and out of Iran, both in cash and by converting it into crypto.
Read Next: Bitcoin ETFs Lose $366M In A Day, Taking Weekly Outflows To $1.47B
