Headline: UK moves to dissolve crypto exchange tied to alleged IRGC sanctions evasion after US designation
Britain’s Companies House has begun striking Zedxion Exchange Ltd. from the UK register, citing “information or a statement in an application for incorporation that is misleading, false or deceptive,” in a move that follows a January U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designation. OFAC named Zedxion and a related platform, Zedcex, for allegedly enabling Iran to evade sanctions and for links to sanctioned financier Babak Zanjani.
What Companies House did and why
- The registrar published a notice to dissolve Zedxion after investigations and the U.S. sanctions designation. The action is part of Companies House’s stepped-up use of powers under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 to remove suspect entries and require identity verification of directors and beneficial owners.
- Since March 2024 Companies House has had authority to query and remove suspicious information and to require a registered email for companies. From November 2025 all directors and people with significant control have been required to verify their identities and firms must confirm they were formed for lawful purposes.
Allegations and investigative findings
- Investigators from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found that Zedxion’s listed director and person with significant control, “Elizabeth Newman” — described in filings as a Dominican national — was likely a fictitious identity. Promotional materials supposedly showing Newman appeared to use a stock photo.
- Company records show Zedxion was incorporated in May 2021. In October 2021 an individual named “Babak Morteza” was listed as director and person with significant control; Companies House records say the identifying details associated with that name match those of Babak Zanjani. “Babak Morteza” was removed as a person with significant control in August 2022, and “Newman” was appointed director that same month.
Blockchain analytics and alleged flows to the IRGC
- Analytics firm TRM Labs reported that Zedxion and sister platform Zedcex processed roughly $1 billion in funds linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), representing about 56% of the platforms’ total transaction volume.
- That IRGC-linked share climbed as high as 87% in 2024, when those flows totaled roughly $619.1 million, before falling to about 48% in 2025 as other activity increased.
The Zanjani connection and wider context
- Babak Zanjani, long accused of operating networks to skirt sanctions, was sanctioned by the U.S. and EU in 2013 for laundering billions in oil revenue for Iranian state entities, including the IRGC. He was convicted in Iran in 2016 for embezzlement and sentenced to death; that sentence was later commuted in 2024 after he repaid funds. By 2025 he had re-emerged with apparent links to regime-aligned economic projects and runs DotOne Holding Group — a conglomerate spanning crypto, FX, logistics, aviation and telecoms, sectors commonly used in sanctions-evasion networks.
- Chainalysis last year reported that illicit cryptocurrency addresses linked to the IRGC received at least $154 billion in digital assets, a 162% year-on-year increase. Following U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, Chainalysis recorded about $10.3 million in crypto outflows between February 28 and March 2, although it could not determine how much of that movement was state-aligned.
Why this matters for crypto and compliance
- The Zedxion takedown underscores growing scrutiny from both financial sanctions authorities and corporate registries. It highlights how blockchain analytics and corporate-record checks are being used together to identify and disrupt alleged sanctions-evasion networks.
- For exchanges, VASPs and compliance teams, the case reinforces the need for robust KYC/AML controls, vendor and counterparty due diligence, and attention to beneficial ownership and corporate filings — especially in jurisdictions where shell companies and false identities are used to mask true controllers.
Bottom line
Regulators and investigators are increasingly converging on crypto-native channels used to route funds for sanctioned actors. The Companies House move against Zedxion — following OFAC’s designation and corroborating blockchain analytics — is a notable example of on- and off-chain enforcement tools combining to challenge alleged sanctions evasion.
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