The United States has imposed sanctions on eight Canadian money-services businesses, accusing them of facilitating transactions tied to Iran. The action, announced on Friday, November 6, 2026, targets firms that allegedly converted Iranian rials and other currencies into digital assets, according to the Treasury Department.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published a list that includes six cryptocurrency addresses, all on the TRON blockchain, belonging to four of the eight companies. The remaining four firms have no wallet addresses listed, meaning half of the designated entities lack explicit digital asset identifiers.
This distinction is critical for banks and cryptocurrency exchanges that must identify restricted parties. OFAC's designations include corporate names, aliases, locations, and registration numbers, providing multiple layers of identification beyond just wallet addresses.
Among the firms with wallet addresses, 1380079 BC Ltd, operating as Amin Exchange Vancouver, has three addresses. Farah Exchange, CCC Inc, and Diverse Trade, which operates as Million Exchange, each have one. The other four companies—B Galaxy, Darvish Exchange, NIA Nations, and Top PC Technician—have no listed wallet addresses.
However, a zero in the designation does not mean these businesses lack cryptocurrency wallets. Treasury specifically mentioned digital-asset activity involving NIA Nations and Darvish Exchange, even though no addresses were published.
"Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime's financial channels anywhere in the world," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement. The sanctions block U.S.-held assets and prohibit transactions with U.S. persons, and entities at least 50% owned by blocked persons are also subject to restrictions.
Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs independently confirmed the count of six addresses and four firms. Their research also sheds light on transaction volumes: the Million Exchange address received $120.7 million between January 2025 and February 2026. January 2026 receipts were $19.4 million, about 2.3 times the 2025 monthly average of $8.3 million, but February saw a sharp drop to $1.4 million, down 92.8% from January. TRM describes the address as nearly dormant since the arrest of Ryan Wedding in January.
Canada's financial intelligence unit, FINTRAC, confirmed coordination with OFAC and the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Separately, FINTRAC reported 161 money-services registration revocations since the start of 2026, surpassing the combined total for the previous three years. The agency also reported over C$198 million in penalties against nine money-services businesses over the past year and disclosed 28 non-compliance cases to law enforcement.
The sanctions highlight ongoing efforts to curb illicit finance, but questions remain about how much money has actually been frozen. Treasury notes that some targeted businesses have changed names and addresses to evade detection, making counterparties harder to identify.
