The United States government has sanctioned eight Canadian money-exchange businesses for allegedly providing financial services to the Iranian regime and, in some cases, for laundering money for a former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug trafficker. The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the actions on Friday, stating the businesses helped Iranian entities circumvent financial sanctions and, in several instances, converted illicit proceeds into digital assets.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies
. The sanctions, part of an operation named Operation Economic Outcast, cut the Canadian firms off from the U.S. dollar-based financial system, blocking any assets they may have in the U.S. and banning transactions with American individuals or entities. The Treasury said the crackdown is part of a wider effort to sever the economic lifelines that sustain the Iranian regime
and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a group designated as a terrorist organization in Canada.
Canadian Businesses Sanctioned
The Treasury identified the eight sanctioned businesses, which are located in Ontario and British Columbia. The list includes:
- Diverse Trade Inc., doing business as Million Exchange (Ontario)
- 1380079 BC Limited, doing business as Amin Exchange (B.C.)
- Top PC Technician Inc. (Ontario)
- NIA Nations Currency Ltd. (B.C.)
- 2397639 Ontario Ltd., doing business as Farah Exchange (Ontario)
- CCC Inc. (Ontario)
- B Galaxy Inc., doing business as Cryptoyal (Ontario)
- Darvish Exchange (Ontario)
The Treasury stated that some of these companies had changed their names and addresses to evade detection and that they provided the Iranian regime with financial lifelines
.
Connection to Alleged Drug Trafficking
Three of the sanctioned businesses were also accused of helping Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder who is now an alleged drug trafficker, to launder money. Officials said Wedding used these firms to convert bulk cash into digital assets, which were then sent abroad. The Treasury noted that millions of dollars’ worth of digital funds were transferred by the companies before Wedding was arrested in January. CBC News has contacted Wedding’s lawyer for comment.
Broader Sanctions Campaign
The action against the Canadian businesses is part of a broader U.S. campaign to disrupt Iran’s financial networks, including its use of digital assets to evade sanctions. In August, the Treasury launched Operation Economic Outcast to target the Iranian regime’s economic lifelines. The Treasury has previously designated several Iranian digital asset exchanges for moving funds on behalf of the Iranian regime and the IRGC. This latest action was coordinated with Canadian and U.S. law enforcement and financial intelligence units, reflecting a whole-of-government effort to combat the illicit use of digital assets for drug trafficking
.
