A blockchain intelligence report from TRM Labs has revealed that two United Kingdom-registered cryptocurrency exchanges, Zedcex and Zedxion, allegedly processed approximately $1 billion in transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over the past two years. The funds were reportedly moved using Tether (USDT) on the TRON blockchain, enabling the heavily sanctioned military organization to circumvent traditional banking restrictions.
According to TRM's analysis, the two exchanges function as a single operation. The report details a significant escalation in IRGC-linked activity: in 2023, about $23.7 million flowed through IRGC-linked addresses on Zedcex, representing roughly 60% of the platform's total activity. This surged dramatically in 2024 to approximately $619.1 million, accounting for an estimated 87% of all transactions. While IRGC-linked flows declined to around $410.4 million in 2025, they still constituted about 48% of the exchange's activity as non-IRGC traffic increased.
"This is not opportunistic crypto misuse — it’s a sanctioned military organization operating exchange-branded infrastructure offshore," stated Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs. "Zedcex shows how crypto can be used as a parallel financial system when beneficial ownership, licensing, and platform control are obscured."
The investigation alleges a corporate trail linking UK entities to Iranian sanctions-evasion networks and terrorist financing. TRM claims the exchanges worked with payment processors in Turkey to facilitate the transactions. The report further ties the operation to Babak Zanjani, an Iranian billionaire sanctioned by both the EU and the US.
The case raises serious questions about regulatory compliance and oversight in the cryptocurrency sector, particularly concerning exchanges operating under UK registration. TRM warns that the next phase of sanctions enforcement will need to focus more on individual transactions and "illicit financial infrastructure," as bad actors increasingly operate through ostensibly legitimate platforms.
