WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) – The US Treasury announced on Friday that it has imposed financial sanctions on eight Canadian money services firms, alleging they have facilitated transactions with sanctioned Iranian entities.
The sanctions cut the firms off from the dollar-based financial system, freezing any US‑based assets and barring any transactions with US persons or entities.
These actions are the latest in a series of Treasury measures targeting non‑US firms that help Iran evade US sanctions, as Washington continues to pressure Tehran.
“Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions‑evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime’s financial channels anywhere in the world.”
The Treasury identified the designated Ontario and British Columbia businesses as Diverse Trade Inc (doing business as Million Exchange), 1380079 BC Limited, Top PC Technician Inc, NIA Nations Currency Ltd, 2397639 Ontario Ltd (doing business as Farah Exchange), CCC Inc, B Galaxy Inc, and Darvish Exchange.
Separately, the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order cutting off Seychelles‑incorporated virtual currency exchanger MEXC Global from the US financial system over transactions linked to sanctions evasion by Iran, North Korea, and Russia. FinCEN said the order blocks US financial institutions from processing fund transfers involving MEXC Global, which it says has facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions tied to Iran, North Korea, Russia, and other sanctioned actors.
(Reporting by David Lawder, Ismail Shakil and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by David Ljunggren and Sanjeev Miglani)