U.S. Department of Justice on Monday, filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking $61.5 million in cryptocurrency, specifically USDT held in ten TRON addresses, alleging the funds are proceeds from sanctioned Iranian oil sales.

The complaint, filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, targets the digital assets in rem rather than naming any exchange as a defendant.

Prosecutors allege that two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, used trading accounts on Binance to launder the illicit funds. These firms allegedly converted fiat payments from Chinese buyers of Iranian crude oil into cryptocurrency.

The $61.5 million targeted in the civil complaint represents a portion of the scheme's active balances. As part of the seizure procedure, stablecoin issuer Tether agreed to freeze and destroy the flagged tokens sitting in the illicit wallets, subsequently re-minting an equivalent value directly to U.S. federal custody.

While the complaint highlights Binance as the platform where the laundering allegedly occurred, Binance is not named as a defendant. The exchange said in a statement it does not permit transactions with sanctioned individuals, is cooperating with law enforcement, and had already frozen the targeted accounts.

"We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement on this matter, and where sanctions or illicit-finance risk is identified, we will always investigate, restrict or freeze accounts where appropriate, offboard users, and report to relevant authorities," Binance said.

The $61.5 million represents only a fraction of a larger network internally dubbed “Entity A,” which prosecutors claim processed over $1.5 billion in illicit oil proceeds through unhosted wallets, an Iranian exchange, and accounts linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The government asserts the money was funneled to the Iranian government, its military components, and the IRGC, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, to finance hostile military actions and terrorist activities against the U.S. and its allies. The FBI and multiple Justice Department units are assisting in the ongoing investigation.

The filing reflects heightened U.S. oversight targeting "shadow fleet" oil exports used by state actors to bypass energy sanctions, with particular focus on off-ramp crypto protocols and unhosted wallet networks. It underscores the U.S. government’s increasing reliance on blockchain analysis to enforce sanctions and disrupt revenue streams for state-sponsored entities.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at 1849 UTC, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Suinday (Sept. 13), carrying the Boeing-built final three satellites (O3b mPOWER 11, 12, and 13), to Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) for Luxembourg-based SES' O3b mPOWER constellation.

The Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1080, completed its 29th flight and landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean a little less than nine minutes after liftoff.

The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the O3b mPOWER trio to MEO. The satellites were deployed as scheduled, in a staggered 14-minute window starting roughly 33.5 minutes after launch, using onboard electric propulsion to reach their operational orbits at 8,000 kilometers.

The final satellites feature re-engineered power systems and software adjustments implemented after early power module anomalies were identified in the first four satellites launched in 2022 and 2023. The O3b mPOWER satellites weigh about 1,700 kilograms apiece. SpaceX has launched all of them, on six Falcon 9 launches beginning in December 2022.

Sunday's launch added the final three spacecraft to the constellation, bringing the total to 13 satellites in MEO. The O3b mPOWER network is designed to deliver low-latency, high-throughput broadband connectivity for government, enterprise, and maritime customers. The new satellites are expected to enter full commercial service by mid-2027.

The network is "purpose-built to deliver predictable low latency, exceptional throughput and unprecedented flexibility for industries where uptime isn’t optional," according to the company. "It transforms how networks operate by pairing advanced software defined satellites with an intelligent ground and software ecosystem — ensuring guaranteed performance, even as global bandwidth demands surge," the company wrote.

Sunday's launch was SpaceX's 107th orbital mission of the year. Falcon 9 has performed 105 of those flights, with Falcon Heavy conducting the other two. This also marks the 700th mission for the Falcon rocket family.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched at 1849 UTC, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Suinday (Sept. 13), carrying the Boeing-built final three satellites (O3b mPOWER 11, 12, and 13), to Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) for Luxembourg-based SES' O3b mPOWER constellation.

The Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1080, completed its 29th flight and landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean a little less than nine minutes after liftoff.

The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the O3b mPOWER trio to MEO. The satellites were deployed as scheduled, in a staggered 14-minute window starting roughly 33.5 minutes after launch, using onboard electric propulsion to reach their operational orbits at 8,000 kilometers.

The final satellites feature re-engineered power systems and software adjustments implemented after early power module anomalies were identified in the first four satellites launched in 2022 and 2023. The O3b mPOWER satellites weigh about 1,700 kilograms apiece. SpaceX has launched all of them, on six Falcon 9 launches beginning in December 2022.

Sunday's launch added the final three spacecraft to the constellation, bringing the total to 13 satellites in MEO. The O3b mPOWER network is designed to deliver low-latency, high-throughput broadband connectivity for government, enterprise, and maritime customers. The new satellites are expected to enter full commercial service by mid-2027.

The network is "purpose-built to deliver predictable low latency, exceptional throughput and unprecedented flexibility for industries where uptime isn’t optional," according to the company. "It transforms how networks operate by pairing advanced software defined satellites with an intelligent ground and software ecosystem — ensuring guaranteed performance, even as global bandwidth demands surge," the company wrote.

Sunday's launch was SpaceX's 107th orbital mission of the year. Falcon 9 has performed 105 of those flights, with Falcon Heavy conducting the other two. This also marks the 700th mission for the Falcon rocket family.