The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a senior Iranian financial facilitator, Ali Ansari, and a network of Iranian exchange houses and front firms across various jurisdictions. The July 10, 2026, measure is aimed against the offshore financial infrastructure that moves billions of dollars a year for sanctioned Iranian banks and regime insiders, including Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
The sanctions come as part of Washington's broader effort to increase economic pressure on Tehran following Iran's resumption of attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement: 'The so-called Supreme Leader is hiding in seclusion while his regime crumbles. Treasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system.'
Ali Ansari and the Supreme Leader's Overseas Empire
Ali Ansari, a Dubai-based Iranian national, has been described by Treasury as a financier who oversees a 'sprawling global network of assets' benefiting Mojtaba Khamenei and other regime elites. According to the Treasury, Ansari 'institutionalized large-scale embezzlement within the Iranian regime,' diverting publicly funded wealth into an extensive overseas portfolio of real estate and commercial holdings.
Ansari was the former owner and director of the now defunct Ayandeh Bank, which was sanctioned by the U.S. and ordered by the Iranian government to dissolve in October 2025, having run up billions in debt. Ansari’s millions of dollars of holdings, through a holding company called Smart Global Limited, based in Saint Kitts and Nevis, were invested in properties in Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, the UK, Cyprus and the UAE, utilising shell companies and bank accounts in multiple jurisdictions.
Shadow Exchange Houses and Front Companies
OFAC also designated a number of Iranian exchange companies that handle billions of dollars in foreign currency transactions annually, allowing the regime to skirt sanctions and access the international banking system. Among those targeted was Amin Exchange, also known as Ebrahimi and Associates Partnership Company, which the Treasury said operates a widespread network of front companies in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Hong Kong.
The exchange houses have facilitated transactions moving hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. One designated entity, Exchange General Partnership Company, held tens of millions of dollars' worth of foreign currency on behalf of its sanctioned Iranian bank customers. Front companies in Hong Kong and the UAE, including Ningbo Jiarui Trading Co., Starshine Petrochemical Corporation Limited, Alieen Goods Wholesalers LLC, and Bold Trading FZE, were also designated for their role in assisting these exchange houses.
Shipping Network Disruption
The Treasury also intensified pressure on the illicit shipping network of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, which remains a major force behind Iran's oil exports and has expanded into global containerized shipping and commodities trading. Treasury has now sanctioned more than 200 individuals, entities, and vessels operating under Shamkhani's patronage.
The Shamkhani network relies on a combination of Iranian and foreign nationals, offshore shell companies, and international shipping firms to move sanctioned goods, process payments, and conceal proceeds from restricted trade. Among those designated are Iranian nationals Hossein Ghorbani Zahed and Mohammad Reza Rahbar Madani, who provided exchange house services and shell companies based outside of Iran. Also targeted was Ali Rakhbarmadani, one of Shamkhani's closest business associates and the deputy chief executive officer of the sanctioned Oriel Group.
Bessent described the Shamkhani network as 'one of its most profitable engines' for the regime. 'Treasury is shutting down the financial infrastructure that allows the regime to continue its threats to U.S. national security and global shipping,' he said. The sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran's financial and petroleum sectors, as well as E.O. 13876 and the counterterrorism authority E.O. 13224.
