US Treasury sanctions eight Canadian money exchange firms over Iran ties

On 7 November the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against eight Canadian money‑exchange firms, accusing them of helping Iranian entities sidestep international sanctions and, in several cases, laundering drug proceeds. The move, part of Operation Economic Outcast, cuts the companies from the U.S. Dollar‑based financial system, freezes any U.S. Assets they hold and bars transactions with American persons or entities.

The eight firms are all based in Ontario or British Columbia and are alleged to have converted Iranian rials and other currencies into digital assets, thereby enabling sanctioned Iranian entities and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to move funds across borders. The Treasury said the companies also transacted with sanctioned cryptocurrency exchanges such as Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex, and that their digital‑asset addresses received or transferred funds tied to the IRGC.

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US Treasury sanctions eight Canadian money exchange firms over Iran ties

In addition, the Treasury highlighted ties to Ryan Wedding, the former Olympic snowboarder accused in the United States of running a billion‑dollar cocaine network. The Treasury said that three of the designated firms helped Wedding launder cash into cryptocurrency before he was arrested in January 2026.

“Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote. The statement underscored that the sanctions target the financial lifelines sustaining Tehran and the IRGC, which Canada also lists as a terrorist organisation.

The sanctions are the latest element of a broader U.S. Campaign that began in August. The Treasury has already targeted Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges – Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, Ramzinex, Aban Tether Exchange and Shelbit – and a network in India and Turkiye that allegedly helped Iran evade oil‑export restrictions. The Treasury claims the combined pressure has pushed the Iranian rial to new lows and driven inflation to about 90 percent.

FinCEN’s order against MEXC Global is a parallel effort. The order, issued under the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, bars U.S. Financial institutions from processing transfers to or from MEXC, citing at least $16 billion of illicit transactions between May 2021 and May 2026. MEXC’s activity included money linked to Iran, Russia, North Korea and other sanctioned actors. The Treasury said MEXC continued to process transactions involving the sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex and its successor Grinex as recently as June 2026.

Canada’s FINTRAC released a statement following the Treasury announcement, saying it had worked with FinCEN to impose the sanctions. FINTRAC highlighted that it had revoked registrations for 161 money‑services businesses in 2026, more than the number revoked in the previous three years combined. The Canadian regulator noted that its legislation limits its ability to share compliance information beyond monetary penalties.

Any property the firms hold in the United States is blocked, and U.S. Persons are prohibited from dealing with them. The Treasury also warned that foreign banks and businesses that continue to transact with the designated firms could face secondary sanctions, exposing them to U.S. Penalties.

Canada has responded cautiously. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs urged Canadians to be concerned, framing the sanctions as a threat to the Iranian regime’s financing of terrorism and proxy wars.

For full details, read the Treasury’s press release on Operation Economic Outcast and the associated statements from Finance Yahoo and Yahoo Canada.