Iran’s shadow banking network extends beyond US sanctions, investigation reveals

Despite years of increasingly aggressive US sanctions, Iran has quietly maintained robust access to the international financial system through a shadow banking network spanning more than a dozen banks across China and the UAE. The operation, pieced together through US Treasury and FinCEN investigations, reveals a sophisticated apparatus of front companies, shell entities, and exchange houses that collectively moved an estimated $9 billion through US correspondent accounts in 2024 alone. The plumbing behind the curtain At the center of this financial architecture are entities known as “sarrafis,” Iranian exchange houses that function as informal banking conduits. These sarrafis work in concert with shell and front companies to route funds through jurisdictions where oversight is either limited or deliberately loose. FinCEN’s Financial Trend Analysis, dated October 23, 2025, breaks the $9 billion figure into two main buckets. Shell companies accounted for roughly $5 billion, or 56% of the dataset. Oil companies made up the remaining $4 billion, at 44%. The geographic concentration is striking. UAE-based entities, 99% of which operate out of Dubai, transacted approximately $6.4 billio...