Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have asked a court to forfeit roughly $61 million in USDT that they say came from sanctioned Iranian oil sales. The Sept. 14 civil complaint, filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, targets tokens held in 10 cryptocurrency addresses on the TRON blockchain.

According to the filing, the funds were intended to support the Iranian government and military-linked organizations, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the U.S. designates as a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors said the wallets are part of a much larger alleged laundering network that moved more than $1.5 billion in oil proceeds.

What the complaint alleges

The government’s case centers on USDT held across 10 addresses that prosecutors say represent proceeds of illicit Iranian oil sales. Deputy U.S. Attorney Sean S. Buckley said in the complaint that Iran used a network of cryptocurrency actors in China and elsewhere to launder more than $1.5 billion intended to benefit the Iranian military and the IRGC.

The filing is a civil forfeiture action, not a criminal conviction. Prosecutors emphasized that the complaint contains allegations that have not been proven in court, and that the United States must still win a judgment before the assets can be legally forfeited.

Companies named in the alleged network

The complaint identifies two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, as key participants in converting and moving the proceeds. Prosecutors allege that both used trading accounts at UAE-based crypto exchange Binance to transfer funds to the Iranian government, its agents, or proxies.

Blessed Trust is also accused of providing on-ramp services that turned fiat money into cryptocurrency. The latest filing further alleges that Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale took part in transactions structured to conceal the source, ownership, and character of the funds, and that they used the U.S. financial system to send or receive tens of millions of dollars while supporting the broader network.

Binance’s earlier response

Binance has previously pushed back on allegations concerning its exposure to the two entities. The exchange said it investigated and removed Hexa Whale in August 2025 and disabled Blessed Trust in January.

Binance also said that, to its knowledge, no account on its platform transacted directly with an entity based in Iran. Those statements came amid a broader dispute over reports of Iran-linked activity and a U.S. inquiry, reported in March, into alleged Iran-related transactions involving the exchange. Binance maintained that its compliance systems had significantly reduced exposure to Iranian crypto exchanges.

How the funds were traced and what happens next

The Justice Department says the wider scheme revolves around a group of unhosted wallets it refers to as “Entity A.” According to prosecutors, those addresses received and distributed more than about $1.5 billion tied to illicit Iranian oil sales. Because public blockchains preserve transaction histories, investigators can map transfers and relationships between wallets once addresses are identified.

The complaint says the seized assets are USDT on TRON, highlighting that dollar-pegged stablecoins can be reached through enforcement actions. If the court grants forfeiture, Tether would burn the tokens in the targeted addresses and issue replacement tokens of equal value for transfer into U.S. government custody. The next confirmed step is the court process required to determine whether the assets will in fact be awarded to the United States.

Source: news.bitcoin.com