The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on 35 individuals and entities on Tuesday for their roles in Iran's shadow banking networks. These targets oversee key components of the system that allow the Iranian regime to access the international financial system, receive payments from illicit oil sales, procure weapons components, and fund terrorist proxies.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the parties under Executive Orders targeting Iran's financial sector and terrorism sponsorship. The action disrupts "rahbar" companies, private Iranian firms that manage thousands of overseas shell companies on behalf of sanctioned banks such as Bank Melli, Bank Shahr, Eghtesad Novin Bank, Parsian Bank, Tourism Bank, Bank Sina, Bank Sepah, and Bank Mellat. These rahbars coordinate with exchange houses and front companies in jurisdictions including the United Kingdom and Hong Kong to process payments for entities like the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Iran's Armed Forces General Staff.

Among the sanctioned entities are Farab Soroush Afagh Qeshm Company, a rahbar for Shahr Bank that employs facilitators to execute money transfers; HMS Trading FZE, which supports Iranian oil shipments; and UK-based front companies such as Shuqun LTD, Sanovo LTD, and Qianza LTD, which processed over $70 million in payments for Iranian crude oil and distillates in 2024 alone. Other targets include Nikan Pezhvak Aria Kish Company, linked to Bank Melli, and front firms like Fratello Carbone Trading Limited, which transferred more than $20 million on behalf of NIOC.

Individuals designated include Sorayya Mehri Hajibaba, an employee at Farab Soroush Afagh Qeshm Company involved in money transfers; Seyyed Mohammed Mehdi Al Ghafur, an official laundering funds for Shahr Bank; and Janelyn Eusebio Emperador, a Filipino national owning three UK front companies. Many hold leadership roles in the rahbar firms, such as Ehsan Moslehi, chairman of Khavar Tejarat Arka Kish Company.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, "Iran’s shadow banking system serves as a critical financial lifeline for its armed forces, enabling activities that disrupt global trade and fuel violence across the Middle East." He added that illicit funds from the network support terrorist operations threatening U.S. personnel, regional allies, and the global economy, warning financial institutions of severe consequences for engaging with these networks.

Iran's formal banking sector has been largely cut off from the global system since the reimposed U.S. sanctions in 2018. Shadow banking fills this gap through multi-jurisdictional networks of shells, exchange houses, and facilitators, moving tens of billions of dollars annually to fund malign activities, including missile programs and proxy militias.

This action builds on Treasury's January 15, 2026, designations against similar rahbar networks and is part of a broader maximum pressure campaign launched in February 2025 under National Security Presidential Memorandum-2. Since then, OFAC has sanctioned roughly 1,000 Iran-related individuals, vessels, and aircraft, including a recent April 24 action targeting China's Hengli Petrochemical refinery and dozens of shadow fleet vessels transporting Iranian oil.

The sanctions block all property and interests in U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit U.S. persons from transactions with the targets. OFAC also issued guidance on risks from "toll" payments to Iran or the IRGC for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.