9,219 Bank Accounts Frozen by Iran Over Suspicious Crypto Transactions

• The Ministry of Finance froze more than 9,219 bank accounts belonging to 545 people.
• Iranian authorities are also taking action against cryptocurrency mining beyond the law.

According to a statement released Saturday, foreign cash and cryptocurrency transactions have been deemed suspicious by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence. The Ministry of Finance froze more than 9,219 bank accounts belonging to 545 people.

As a result, nearly 60 trillion Iranian tomans (about $2 billion USD) of transactions were halted, according to the official statement. There has been a four-month low in the value of Iran’s currency versus the US dollar. On the other hand, the government did not disclose any information on the accounts or the percentage of revenue generated in digital currency.

The Ministry of Intelligence and the country’s central bank worked together to carry out a court order. A recent Iranian government strategy to tackle unlawful and unauthorized transfers of foreign cash and virtual currency was a component of this effort. In December of last year, the ministry stated that it had frozen the bank accounts of over 700 “illegal” foreign currency traders in the nation.

Crack Down on Illegal Mining Activities

Iranian authorities are also taking action against cryptocurrency mining beyond the law. About 7,000 illegal mining sites have been closed in the last two years. There has also been new legislation in Iran to strengthen punishments for unlawful cryptocurrency mining, including increased fines and incarceration.

According to Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, director of the state-run Iran Grid Management Co. and spokesman for Iran’s power industry, Iran ordered the shutdown of authorized cryptocurrency mining centers for the second time last year to ease the pressure on the country’s power plants and avoid power outages.