The US Treasury imposed financial sanctions on eight Canadian money-service companies that it alleged had conducted business with sanctioned Iranian entities, according to a Friday statement cited by Cointelegraph.
The companies facilitated exchanges of Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets, enabling international transactions, Treasury said. It alleged that the businesses handled transactions involving sanctioned Iranian digital asset exchanges and digital asset addresses associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The sanctions isolate the companies from the dollar-based financial system. The source report was published on November 7, 2026, at 19:10:47 UTC+8; the Treasury announcement was made on Friday.
Action coordinated with Canada’s financial intelligence unit
Treasury said the designations were coordinated with FINTRAC, Canada’s financial intelligence unit. It also alleged that some of the entities had changed their names and addresses to evade detection.
“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.”
Part of a broader sanctions campaign
Cointelegraph reported in August that Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) was targeting crypto exchanges facilitating transfers to Iran’s IRGC. Bessent said then that the US planned to “increase the economic pressure” on Iran by targeting financial networks funding its government “in dollars, rials, or crypto.”
Treasury described Friday’s designations as a continuation of its campaign to disrupt what it called Iran’s exploitation of digital assets to fund terrorism, human rights abuses and attacks on US personnel and allies.
Separate reward for nuclear-program information
In a separate action on Friday, the US Rewards for Justice program offered up to $20 million, along with possible relocation, for information about Iran’s nuclear program, including facilities, equipment and personnel.
The statement said Iran’s lack of compliance with International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards had caused the agency to lose “continuity of knowledge” about Iran’s production of enriched uranium and components such as centrifuges.
Original article: Cointelegraph — US sanctions Canadian money-exchange firms over Iran ties.