[U.S. Sanctions Struggle to Block Iranian Funds: Approximately $9 Billion in 'Shadow Banking' Funds Still Flow Through U.S. Banks] BlockBeats News, September 7: The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently analyzed and found that approximately $9 billion in suspected 'shadow banking' activities linked to Iran are expected to flow through U.S. correspondent bank accounts in 2024. Of this, about $5 billion originates from foreign shell companies, while another $4 billion involves foreign oil companies suspected of being Iranian front companies. The report highlights that Iranian-related entities do not need to directly hold U.S. bank accounts to access the dollar system. Instead, they can utilize intermediary institutions and correspondent banks in financial hubs such as the UAE, Hong Kong, and Singapore. These networks employ layers of transactions through shell companies, exchange institutions, and entities in industries such as oil, shipping, investment, and technology to obscure the funds' connections to Iran. In addition to traditional financial channels, Iran is increasingly relying on cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions. Reuters previously estimated that cryptocurrency activities involving Iran could reach a scale of $8 billion to $10 billion by 2025. Recently, the U.S. government has further expanded the scope of secondary sanctions on Iran, including sectors such as digital assets, gold, technology, aviation, and shipping. [Original Link]