The U.S. Treasury Department, through its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), sanctioned two Iranian maritime insurance companies on July 29, 2026, accusing them of orchestrating an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-backed scheme that accepted Bitcoin payments to bypass Western sanctions. The designated entities — HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority and Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company — were placed on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list under Executive Order 13902 for operating in Iran’s financial sector.
According to Treasury allegations, the firms compelled commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to purchase approved insurance coverage, often against risks that the U.S. says originate from Iran itself. The department described the setup as an “IRGC-backed extortion scheme” designed to generate revenue for the Iranian regime. HormuzSafe, reportedly developed by Iran’s Ministry of Economy, accepted premiums in Bitcoin and other digital assets to obscure transactions and evade traditional banking oversight.
The public sanctions announcement did not include specific Bitcoin addresses, transaction hashes, or payment totals. While OFAC’s designation confirms the U.S. government’s allegations, it presents no on-chain evidence of completed Bitcoin payments. Earlier in May, HormuzSafe had publicly promoted digital insurance policies payable in Bitcoin, with Iranian state-linked reports projecting over $10 billion in annual revenue — a figure that remains an unverified projection.
Beyond the two insurers, OFAC also sanctioned eight additional companies and eight tankers for alleged involvement in transporting Iranian crude oil. The vessels — including Well Sail, Lily, and Nireta — were identified as blocked property, some accused of shipping millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China since 2022.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical energy chokepoint, handling more than one-quarter of global seaborne oil trade. The sanctions could raise operational and legal risks for shipping firms and signal a broader U.S. effort to disrupt Iranian revenue by targeting crypto-enabled financial intermediaries. For the digital asset industry, the action reinforces the pressure to implement robust KYC and AML controls to avoid facilitating sanctioned transactions.
