US sanctions Iranian financiers over cryptocurrency transfers from oil sales

The US Treasury made allegations against Iranian nationals Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand (Alex Brandon/AP)

Two Iranian financiers and more than a dozen people and firms across Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates were sanctioned on Tuesday for allegedly co-ordinating $100m worth of cryptocurrency transfers from the sale of Iranian oil.

The US Treasury alleges that Iranian nationals Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand facilitated the purchase of more than 100 million dollars worth of cryptocurrency for oil sales for the Iranian government.