The Treasury is punishing Iran as the elite are said to be moving tens of millions abroad
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Members of Iran’s ruling party are said to have withdrawn “tens of millions of dollars” from the country as the US imposed new sanctions over the country’s crackdown on violent protests, according to reports.
The government’s “big flight” came as the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on Jan. 15 in its release that it is taking “action against shadow banking networks that allow Iran’s elite to steal and illegally mine the country’s natural resources.”
“There are several reports, some of which are yet to be confirmed, about the flight of money in various ways from the Islamic Republic,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.
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House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith sent a letter to Treasury Secretary and IRS Acting Commissioner Scott Bessent, pictured here, and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano to CAIR-California for an IRS review. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
If confirmed, said Ben Taleblu, the money-flow allegations underscore the need for US authorities to follow up and “stop and seize” assets arrested and sanctioned figures.
“If a major flight happens, then these are the accounts that the US government should be looking to track, block, freeze and seize,” he said.
“At the direction of President Trump, the Treasury Department is punishing key Iranian leaders involved in the brutal extermination of the Iranian people. The Treasury Department will use all tools to target those behind the regime’s brutal suppression of human rights,” Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said in a statement on Jan. 15.
Bessent went on to reveal in the interview how his department had traced “tens of millions of dollars” to Iran through the leaders.
“Now we see the rats running away from the ship, because we see millions, tens of millions of dollars connected outside the country, being smuggled outside the country by the leadership of Iran,” said Bessent.
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Treasury sanctions target Iranian bank as Mojtaba Khamenei allegedly transferred millions overseas, (QASSEM AL-KAABI/AFP via Getty Images)
“So they abandon ship, and we see it going into banks and financial institutions around the world,” he added.
Iranian figures are said to be transferring large sums of money abroad, and Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is said to have transferred approximately $328 million overseas as part of an estimated $1.5 billion in recent days, Channel 14 reported.
“There were also some reports on social media about a large amount of Bitcoin being transferred, or other types of financial assets. I could not independently confirm that, but it is something that is being discussed,” said Ben Taleblu.
“The fact that the Ministry of Finance is looking at this tells you that Washington is also trying to link its foreign economic policy with national security policy,” he said.
Ben Taleblu also said that Iran’s banking system has penetrated the world’s finances, with billions of dollars being transferred to places “including the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Singapore.”
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Trump is considering US options for responding to Iran’s attack on protesters. (Mark Schifelbein/AP Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters)
“In the past, Washington has tracked the banking activities of the state, unfortunately, even involving trade and money laundering through friendly areas, more dependent on the West,” explained Ben Taleblu.
“In fact, the Treasury Department has identified approximately $9 billion in Iranian banking activity that affected US accounts by 2024,” he said.
Ben Taleblu added that the economic pressure campaign is putting renewed attention on President Donald Trump’s next move.
“All eyes are now on President Trump to see if he’s taking a page from Reagan’s playbook, Obama’s playbook, or something else entirely,” said Ben Taleblu.
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“The million dollar question is whether there will be anything, especially after the most violent incident against protesters in the history of the Islamic Republic.”
“Economic sanctions are helpful and necessary,” he added, “but they are nowhere near enough to level the playing field between the road and the state.”
