US Treasury sanctions eight Canadian money exchange firms over Iran ties
The United States has imposed sanctions on eight Canadian currency-exchange businesses, saying they helped Iranian entities evade financial restrictions and move funds through digital assets. The action was announced on Friday as part of what the Treasury Department called Operation Economic Outcast. The firms are based in Ontario and British Columbia, according to the Treasury.
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The department said the businesses included Million Exchange, Amin Exchange and Cryptoyal. It said some of the firms converted Iranian rials and other currencies into digital assets such as cryptocurrency, and that some also helped an alleged head of a drug trafficking ring. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Canada could not be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions-evasion services to the Iranian government and its proxies.
The sanctions cut the firms off from the US dollar-based financial system. They freeze any assets the businesses may hold in the United States and bar Americans and US entities from dealing with them. Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada said it worked with the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on the action, and said it regularly cooperates with foreign financial intelligence units on money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion.
The move adds to wider pressure on networks accused of helping sanctioned actors move money across borders. The Treasury said its campaign is aimed at severing the economic lifelines that sustain the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The case also highlights the growing role of digital assets in sanctions enforcement, as authorities increasingly focus on currency conversion channels that can obscure the origin and destination of funds.
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The announcement comes amid continuing efforts by US and Canadian financial intelligence agencies to track cross-border illicit finance. In a separate statement, the US Treasury said the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an order targeting the money exchanger MEXC Global, saying it had facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions linked to Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as other sanctioned actors. That broader enforcement context suggests the latest action is part of a wider campaign against money-service businesses and crypto-linked transfer routes.
What remains unclear is whether the sanctioned Canadian firms will face any additional domestic action in Canada, or whether further names may be added to the list. The Treasury has not publicly detailed the full evidence behind each designation beyond its allegations. The immediate effect is to isolate the firms from the US financial system, while the longer-term impact will depend on whether other jurisdictions follow with parallel measures.
