UK Moves to Dissolve Cryptocurrency Platform Zedxion Exchange Amid Sanctions Violations Linked to Iran’s IRGC

UK Dissolves Cryptocurrency Platform Linked to Iranian Sanctions Evasion

In a significant move against financial misconduct, Companies House, Britain’s official company register, has initiated the dissolution of Zedxion Exchange Ltd., a cryptocurrency platform embroiled in allegations of processing funds for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This action follows a notice published on Companies House’s website, marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing battle against international sanctions evasion.

The dissolution comes in the wake of U.S. sanctions imposed in January by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which designated Zedxion and its sister entity, Zedcex, for allegedly facilitating Iran’s efforts to bypass sanctions. The companies have been linked to Babak Zanjani, a financier previously sanctioned for laundering billions of dollars in oil revenue on behalf of Iranian state entities, including the IRGC.

Companies House cited the dissolution as a response to “misleading, false or deceptive” information in Zedxion’s incorporation application. Investigations by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project revealed that the company’s listed director, Elizabeth Newman, was likely a fictitious identity, with promotional materials featuring a stock image instead of a real person.

Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs reported that Zedxion and Zedcex processed approximately $1 billion in funds associated with the IRGC, which constituted around 56% of their total transaction volume. This figure peaked at 87% in 2024, when IRGC-linked transactions reached about $619.1 million, before tapering off to 48% in 2025 as other activities surged.

Zedxion was incorporated in May 2021, with Babak Morteza, a name matching that of Zanjani, listed as director later that year. Morteza was removed from the records in August 2022, shortly before Newman’s appointment. Zanjani, who was convicted of embezzlement in Iran in 2016, has since resurfaced in the public eye, aligning himself with regime-backed economic initiatives through his conglomerate, DotOne Holding Group.

The Iranian regime has increasingly turned to cryptocurrency as a means to circumvent international sanctions. A report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis revealed that illicit cryptocurrency addresses linked to the IRGC received at least $154 billion in digital assets last year, marking a staggering 162% increase from the previous year.

In light of these developments, Companies House is exercising expanded powers under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which allows for the removal of suspect information from the register. This includes mandatory identity verification for directors and beneficial owners, a measure aimed at curtailing the misuse of the UK corporate register.

As the global community grapples with the implications of cryptocurrency in facilitating sanctions evasion, the dissolution of Zedxion Exchange Ltd. serves as a stark reminder of the challenges ahead in regulating this rapidly evolving financial landscape.