WASHINGTON—Today, following Iran’s resumption of attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against Iranian financial facilitator Ali Ansari (Ansari), who oversees a sprawling global network of assets benefitting Iran’s leader—Mojtaba Khamenei—and other regime elites. Ansari has effectively institutionalized large‑scale embezzlement within the Iranian regime, diverting publicly funded wealth into an extensive overseas portfolio of real estate and commercial holdings to enrich himself, regime elites—including notable senior figures within the Supreme Leader’s Office—and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). OFAC today also targeted key Iranian exchange houses that move billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks, using layers of shell companies to obscure the regime’s illicit financial activity.
“The so-called Supreme Leader is hiding in seclusion while his regime crumbles,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Treasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system. We will preserve these assets for the Iranian people.”
Today’s action is being taken pursuant to E.O. 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran’s financial and petroleum sectors, E.O. 13876, which focuses on the Supreme Leader of Iran and his affiliates, and the counterterrorism authority E.O. 13224, as amended by E.O. 13886 (“E.O. 13224, as amended”). These designations build on a series of OFAC actions targeting Iranian shadow banking and currency exchange house networks.
key FINANCIER for the SUPREME LEADER’s office
Dubai-based Iranian national Ali Ansari has made a name for himself by institutionalizing embezzlement within the Iranian regime and has subsequently amassed a global network of investment properties and financial holdings, both on behalf of Mojtaba Khamenei and for his own self-serving interests by using his close ties to regime elites to enrich himself and his allies at the expense of the Iranian people.
Ansari was previously the owner and director of the U.S. sanctioned and now bankrupt and defunct Ayandeh Bank, and he used this position to overextend loans and embezzle billions of dollars from the Iranian people until the Iranian government forced the bank’s dissolution in mid-October 2025. Ayandeh Bank racked up billions in debt as it issued loans backed by the Central Bank of Iran to Ansari’s own companies and commercial ventures in Iran. While Ansari’s embezzlement was causing untold damage to Iran’s economy and the already soaring inflation affecting the daily lives of ordinary Iranians, Ansari was using his publicly funded wealth to simultaneously expand an overseas business empire on behalf of Mojtaba Khamenei.
Using numerous shell companies and bank accounts across multiple jurisdictions, Ansari has accumulated millions of dollars’ worth of holdings under the Saint Kitts and Nevis-based Smart Global Limited, a holding company established in 2011 under the former name Ziba Leisure Limited. Through Smart Global Limited, Ansari has invested the Iranian people’s money into real estate and commercial properties throughout Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, and beyond. Although held in Ansari’s name, many of these financial interests are ultimately held for the financial benefit of Mojtaba Khamenei, his family, and other Iranian elites in the regime and the IRGC who have protected Ansari from facing punishment despite his blatant corruption and the significant damage he has caused to the Iranian economy and people.
Ali Ansari is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13876 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Mojtaba Khamenei, as well as pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the IRGC. Smart Global Limited is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13876 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Ali Ansari, and pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Ali Ansari.
Iranian Exchange Houses
Iran’s international banking activities are heavily reliant on Iran-based currency exchange houses which hold and move money on behalf of their Iranian bank customers. These exchange houses are often family-run “general partnership” companies formed by at least two individuals, wherein the company partners are ultimately liable for the funds with which they are entrusted by the banks.
Mohammad Darbani, Shokufeh Rostam Abadi, and Zahra Sarshari are the controlling partners of Iranian exchange house Mohammad Darbani and Partners Exchange General Partnership Company, which has facilitated transactions moving hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign currency on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks over the last several years. As of early 2026, Darbani Exchange held tens of millions of dollars’ worth of foreign currency on behalf of its sanctioned Iranian bank customers. Shokufeh Rostam Abadi is the exchange house’s chief executive officer (CEO) while Mohammad Darbani is the chairman of the board of directors and Zahra Sarshari is a board member.
Ahmad Navai Lavasani and Amir Navai Lavasani are the controlling partners of Iranian exchange house Lavasani and Partners General Partnership Company, which has entered into contracts with sanctioned Iranian banks Bank Melli, Bank Saderat, Sina Bank, Shahr Bank, Eghtesad Novin Bank, Tourism Bank, Bank Pasargad, and Bank Mellat. As of early 2026, Lavasani Exchange held hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of foreign currency on behalf of its sanctioned Iranian bank customers and has facilitated transactions moving hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign currency on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks over the last several years. Ahmad Navai Lavasani is the exchange house CEO and Amir Navai Lavasani is the chairman of the board of directors.
Mohsen Khandan and Ali Asghar Khandan are the controlling partners of Iranian exchange house Mohsen Khandan and Partners General Partnership Company, which has entered into contracts with sanctioned Iranian banks Parsian Bank, Export Development Bank, Bank Saderat, Bank Sepah, Sina Bank, Karafarin Bank, Saman Bank, and Tejarat Bank. Khandan Exchange holds over $117 million in foreign currency on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks. Mohsen Khandan is the exchange house CEO and Ali Asghar Khandan is the only other partner and board member.
Mohammad Darbani and Partners Exchange General Partnership Company, Lavasani and Partners General Partnership Company, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners General Partnership Company are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the financial sector of the Iranian economy. Mohammad Darbani, Shokufeh Rostam Abadi, and Zahra Sarshari are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for acting for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Mohammad Darbani and Partners Exchange General Partnership Company. Ahmad Navai Lavasani and Amir Navai Lavasani are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for acting for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Lavasani and Partners General Partnership Company. Mohsen Khandan and Ali Asghar Khandan are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for acting for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Mohsen Khandan and Partners General Partnership Company.
These exchange houses move and maintain the equivalent of billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks, which transact through vast layers of cover and shell companies that conceal the sanctioned Iranian commercial parties ultimately behind these transactions. Hong Kong-based CDM Trading Limited is a front company which has been used to conduct financial transactions by multiple Iranian exchange houses, to include Mohsen Khandan and Partners General Partnership Company. Similarly, Naba Alzaki Raw Materials Trading LLC is a UAE-based front company which has been used by Mohsen Khandan and Partners General Partnership Company as part of Iran’s rahbar network.
CDM Trading Limited and Naba Alzaki Raw Materials Trading LLC are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the financial sector of the Iranian economy.
SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons.
Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons. OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis. OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC’s enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing or conspiring to cause U.S. persons to wittingly or unwittingly violate U.S. sanctions, as well as engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions. Individuals located in the U.S. or abroad who provide information about sanctions violations to FinCEN’s whistleblower incentive program may be eligible for awards if the information they provide leads to a successful enforcement action that results in monetary penalties exceeding $1,000,000. In addition, financial institutions and other persons may risk exposure to sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities with designated or otherwise blocked persons.
Furthermore, engaging in certain transactions involving the persons designated today may risk the imposition of secondary sanctions on participating foreign financial institutions. OFAC can prohibit or impose strict conditions on opening or maintaining, in the United States, a correspondent account or a payable-through account of a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates any significant transaction on behalf of a person who is designated pursuant to the relevant authority.
The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, or to submit a request, please refer to OFAC’s guidance on Filing a Petition for Removal from an OFAC List.
Click here for more information on the persons designated today.
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