The Ministry of Intelligence in Iran has reported that it has blocked nearly 10,000 bank accounts due to suspicious cryptocurrency and foreign currency transactions. This was done in cooperation with the central bank of Iran.
Blocked 9,219 Bank Accounts
According to local media, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence released a statement Saturday saying that it had blocked several bank accounts because of suspicious cryptocurrency and foreign currency transactions. The ministry provided details:
5,45 people had their bank accounts blocked, totalling 9,219
According to the statement, the total transaction value that was blocked was more than 60 trillion Iranian Tomans. This is roughly $2 billion based upon the Iranian open-market daily dollar exchange rate. The currency of Iran recently fell to a low of four months against the U.S. dollars.
The ministry didn’t provide any information on the accounts, or the amount of digital currency used to make the turnover.
The order of a judge was given to the Ministry of Intelligence and the action was done in collaboration with the central bank. This was part of an Iranian government plan to fight illegal and unauthorized cryptocurrency and foreign currency transactions. The ministry announced in December that it had frozen bank accounts belonging to more than 700 illegal foreign exchange traders.
Iran is cracking down on cryptocurrency mining. In the last two years, authorities shut down approximately 7,000 illegal mining sites. New rules have been developed by the Iranian government to increase penalties for illegal cryptocurrency mining. This includes additional prison sentences.
