The United States has imposed sanctions on eight Canadian money services businesses it accuses of helping sanctioned Iranian entities move money around the world, in the latest strike of a Treasury campaign aimed at cutting off Tehran's financial lifelines. In a separate action announced on the same day, the Treasury's anti-money-laundering unit moved to cut a major cryptocurrency exchange, MEXC Global, out of the US financial system.
The Treasury Department announced the measures on Friday, 6 November, as part of what it calls "Operation Economic Outcast", a campaign launched in August to disrupt Iran's financial channels and its alleged use of digital assets to evade international sanctions. The designations were made under Executive Order 13902, according to the Treasury.
The eight businesses, based in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, are accused of facilitating transactions with sanctioned Iranian entities. The Treasury said some of the firms converted Iranian rials and other currencies into digital assets such as cryptocurrency, and that some also handled funds linked to an alleged drug-trafficking boss.
What the sanctions do
The designations effectively cut the firms off from the US dollar-based financial system. Any assets they hold in the United States are frozen, and US citizens and businesses are barred from transactions with them.
"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 said in a statement. "Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime's financial channels anywhere in the world."
The Treasury said the firms transacted with sanctioned Iranian digital-asset exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex — exchanges the Treasury had already designated in June 2026.
The eight firms named
According to the Treasury, the designated businesses are:
| Business | Trading as / location |
|---|---|
| Diverse Trade Inc | Million Exchange, Ontario |
| 1380079 BC Limited | Amin Exchange, British Columbia |
| Top PC Technician Inc | Ontario |
| NIA Nations Currency Ltd | British Columbia |
| 2397639 Ontario Ltd | Farah Exchange, Ontario |
| CCC Inc | Ontario |
| B Galaxy Inc | Cryptoyal, Ontario |
| Darvish Exchange | Ontario |
The action was coordinated with Canada's financial intelligence unit, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), which worked with the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
"FINTRAC works regularly with foreign financial intelligence units to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion. Through bilateral agreements, the Centre is able to disclose intelligence to financial intelligence units worldwide."
The MEXC order: $16bn in alleged illicit flows
Separately, FinCEN issued an order targeting MEXC Global, a virtual currency exchanger incorporated in Seychelles. The order prevents US financial institutions from processing fund transfers involving the exchange.
FinCEN said MEXC Global had facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions linked to Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as transactions with other sanctioned actors.
Why this matters: the two actions target different links in the same chain. The eight Canadian firms are accused of converting ordinary currency into crypto for sanctioned Iranian entities; MEXC is accused of being one of the exchanges where those digital assets then moved. Cutting off both ends is the point of the operation.
The drug-trafficking link
According to the Treasury, some of the designated businesses also laundered proceeds linked to an alleged drug-trafficking network. CBC News reported that the funds were linked to Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder accused of leading a drug-trafficking ring, who was arrested in January 2026.
A widening campaign
Friday's measures are the latest in a series of Treasury actions against firms outside the United States that Washington says help Iran get around sanctions, as pressure on Tehran intensifies. The Treasury says the campaign aims to "sever the economic lifelines that sustain the Iranian regime" and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which Canada also lists as a terrorist organisation.
Just two days earlier, on Wednesday, the Treasury sanctioned a network in India and Türkiye that it accuses of helping Iran evade restrictions on its oil exports and airlines. That network is run by Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, who are based in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, according to the Treasury.
The US claimed last week that the campaign had pushed Iran's rial to new lows and driven inflation to about 90 percent. Those figures come from the US government, not from independent verification, and Iran's central bank does not publish comparable data.
What is alleged, not proven: the designations are accusations by the US Treasury, not findings by a court. The firms are accused of facilitating transactions with sanctioned entities; none has been convicted of sanctions evasion. The $16 billion figure for MEXC is FinCEN's allegation, based on its own analysis of transactions the exchange is said to have processed.
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to be "designated" by OFAC?
Designation places a person or business on the US sanctions list. Their US assets are frozen, US citizens and companies are barred from dealing with them, and foreign banks that do business with them risk losing access to the US financial system themselves.
Why target money exchangers in Canada?
According to the Treasury, the firms acted as intermediaries: they took Iranian rials and other currencies and converted them into digital assets that could move across borders without passing through the conventional banking system.
What happens to MEXC now?
The FinCEN order bars US financial institutions from processing fund transfers involving the exchange. It takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. MEXC has not publicly commented on the order.
Is this connected to the US strikes on Iran?
The sanctions are part of the same broader pressure campaign, but they are a financial measure, not a military one. The Treasury has been running Operation Economic Outcast since August, while the military strikes on Iranian air defences took place this week. The US has also offered a $20 million reward for information about Iran's nuclear programme.
Key takeaways
- The US Treasury sanctioned eight Canadian money services businesses on 6 November, accusing them of helping sanctioned Iranian entities evade sanctions, including by converting rials into cryptocurrency.
- The designations freeze any US assets the firms hold and bar US persons from dealing with them; the action was coordinated with Canada's FINTRAC.
- FinCEN separately ordered US financial institutions to stop processing transfers involving MEXC Global, which it says facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions linked to Iran, North Korea and Russia.
- The measures are part of Operation Economic Outcast, launched in August, which the Treasury says aims to sever the financial lifelines of the Iranian regime and the IRGC.
- All of the allegations are Treasury accusations, not court findings; the firms have not publicly responded.
What to watch next
The FinCEN order against MEXC takes effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, so the first test of its impact will come in early December, when US banks must stop processing the exchange's transfers. Watch also for any Canadian enforcement action of its own — FINTRAC coordinated on these designations, and Ottawa has been under pressure to show it is policing money services businesses operating on its soil. And Operation Economic Outcast is still running: further designations, in other countries, are likely as the Treasury works through the networks it says move money for Tehran.
