This is OFAC’s eighth action in 2026 targeting Iran’s shadow banking apparatus, including targeting Iranian banks and their rahbar front companies, exchange houses, and their managers, major financiers, and the Iranian importers and exporters who rely on these financial networks to launder and repatriate revenues. UAE-based shell companies collaborate closely with Alps International, which in turn executes the payments on behalf of FSAQ. A UAE-based operational team of FSAQ specialists—identified as the “Safe Group”—alongside Alps International, carries out funds transfers and handles documentation for Chinese shell companies receiving money through intermediary accounts. Extending the reach of this Iranian-run, Dubai-based network are numerous shell companies registered around the world, particularly in Hong Kong. “Treasury will continue to expose these networks and cut them off from the U.S. financial system.”