Bitcoin Trader on US Sanctions Blacklist Says He's Innocent

An Iranian bitcoin trader, Ghorbaniyan was among the wallet holders whose names and blockchain addresses were added to the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions list last week.

He admits to converting bitcoin to Iranian rials for both of the individuals listed by the FBI, Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri and Faramarz Shahi Savandi, over several years, but says he had no reason to suspect them of any wrongdoing.

At the very least, his perspective raises questions about how black markets and grassroots bitcoin adoption overlap, especially in regions with opaque regulatory requirements.

This is the most common way to buy and sell bitcoin in Iran.

A: KYC for buying/selling bitcoin in Iran involves a selfie with bank account cards and national ID cards for the person in the selfie, plus a telephone number.

I've never done any criminal activities with these two people and if I knew that any of our customers are associated with criminal activities then I would refrain from doing business with them.

Our names have been declared by the United States Treasury as associated with criminal activities without receiving any contact from the Treasury.

We are accused of something we haven't done! I was not aware of any criminal activities from our customers and I have not committed a crime.

Is there a database declaring the bitcoins that are associated with criminal activity? If I was trying to do criminal activities wouldn't I be more concerned with hiding my identity? You could find my bank, phone numbers and bitcoin address publicly available on my website! Why should I give out such info if I were to take part in criminal activities? This is enough evidence and arguments to prove I'm innocent of any charges!

Before accusing people of criminal activities, the Treasury must notify the international police to request data and explanations from the Iranian police, which would have come to us.