The U.S. Treasury Department announced today a set of sanctions naming Ali Ansari, described by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as a financial facilitator for Iran, along with several Iranian currency exchange houses and affiliated front companies. The action follows Iran's renewed attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and, according to the Treasury, targets a global network of assets that benefit Iran's leadership.
OFAC stated that Ansari oversees holdings that benefit Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader, as well as other regime officials. The department said Ansari diverted wealth that had been publicly funded into overseas real estate and commercial investments, enriching himself and officials connected to the Supreme Leader's Office and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was quoted as saying the department will persist in isolating the supreme leader and other regime officials from the global financial system while preserving assets for the Iranian people. The department's designation places Ansari and the named entities under U.S. sanctions that block property and interests in property located in the United States or subject to U.S. control.
OFAC noted Ansari's prior role as owner and director of Ayandeh Bank, a financial institution the U.S. had previously sanctioned. The Treasury said Ayandeh Bank became insolvent and went bankrupt in mid-October 2025. During his time at the bank, Ansari allegedly issued excessive loans and embezzled billions of dollars from Iranian citizens until Iranian authorities forced the bank to close.
The Treasury described a pattern of using shell companies and cross-border bank accounts to amass holdings. It said Ansari used a Saint Kitts and Nevis-registered entity, Smart Global Limited, to accumulate millions of dollars and to invest in real estate and commercial properties. The department listed Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates among locations where those investments were held, and said there were other, unspecified jurisdictions involved.
In addition to Ansari, the Treasury designated three Iranian currency exchange houses that the department says hold and move funds on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. Mohammad Darbani and Partners Exchange General Partnership Company reportedly held tens of millions of dollars in foreign currency for sanctioned Iranian banks as of early 2026.
Lavasani and Partners General Partnership Company, OFAC said, held hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign currency for sanctioned Iranian banks as of early 2026. The Treasury listed that firm as having contractual relationships with Bank Melli, Bank Saderat, Sina Bank, Shahr Bank, Eghtesad Novin Bank, Tourism Bank, Bank Pasargad and Bank Mellat.
Mohsen Khandan and Partners General Partnership Company was identified as holding over $117 million in foreign currency for sanctioned Iranian banks, with contracts in place with Parsian Bank, Export Development Bank, Bank Saderat, Bank Sepah, Sina Bank, Karafarin Bank, Saman Bank and Tejarat Bank, the Treasury said.
The department also moved against two companies it described as front entities used by Iranian exchange houses to execute financial transactions: Hong Kong-based CDM Trading Limited and UAE-based Naba Alzaki Raw Materials Trading LLC. With these designations, the Treasury said all property and interests in property of the listed persons in the United States or under U.S. control are blocked.
As a result of the action, U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the blocked individuals and entities unless they obtain a license from OFAC. The Treasury framed the measures as part of an effort to limit access to the global financial system for senior regime figures while preserving assets for the Iranian population.
Contextual note - The Treasury linked the timing of the designations to Iran's recent escalation of attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The department's public statements detailed the financial mechanisms and corporate structures it says were used to move and conceal funds outside Iran, and identified the specific banks and intermediary firms connected to the exchange houses it sanctioned.