To get around US sanctions, Iran has built a complex network of intermediaries and entrepreneurs close to the regime. At its center is a billionaire who was once sentenced to death and is now serving the ayatollahs again.
Under President Donald Trump, the US is trying to force the Iranian leadership to back down by imposing particularly harsh sanctions. They should achieve what military pressure since February has failed to achieve. Not only Iran's main sources of income and trade, such as oil, banking, gold, shipping, aviation and certain technological sectors, are affected, but also cryptocurrencies. Iran is apparently using them for the transfer of funds, trade operations and, increasingly, for oil-related transactions.
In addition, Iran seems to be examining the possibility of using cryptocurrencies to guarantee oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Fars News, a news agency close to the Revolutionary Guard, the proposal was made by Babak Sanja. This 53-year-old billionaire, who was released from prison last year, is among the most prominent figures in the network created by Iran to circumvent international sanctions.
A network of power, money and protection
The members of this network enjoy the support and protection of influential representatives of Iranian politics in return for giving up part of their profits. “Babak Sanjani, with his innovative ideas, is one of the most elite members of the network. He has repeatedly proven his abilities in the past,” journalist Benzad Ahmadinia told DW. “It seems that the elite has decided to overcome its internal feuds and rely on specialists and experts who can work more effectively than others and take on important functions.”
Corruption in the public sector and the lack of transparency are considered structural problems of the Iranian political and economic system. In the “Transparency International” corruption index, Iran ranks 153rd out of 182 countries.
According to media reports, Sanjani controlled a corporate empire of 60 companies, including in Malaysia, Tajikistan, Turkey and the UAE. Many of them were subsequently subject to US sanctions. It is alleged that through his network, the businessman sold billions of barrels of oil on the black market during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while also importing all kinds of goods, including airplanes, into Iran.
After the death sentence - back in business
However, in 2016, as part of the internal political power struggles in Iran, Sanjani was accused of hiding $2.6 billion in oil export revenues from the state. After a high-profile trial in one of the country's largest corruption cases, he was sentenced to death. Sanjani has long disputed the charges and has begun negotiations with the authorities.
Another key figure in this network is the Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab. He was arrested in 2016 while on vacation in the United States. He is accused of money laundering and violating US sanctions. Zarrab had built up a wide business network in Turkey and had detailed knowledge of the financial and economic mechanisms by which Iran circumvents sanctions.
How the networks work
Cases like his give US authorities the opportunity to establish how Iranian sanctions-evading networks function and allow Washington to target them. Zarrab subsequently agreed to cooperate with US investigators and was released from prison.
“People like Zarrab or Sanjani are supported within the system and have connections to various centers of power,” economist Jamshid Asadi told DW. Again, according to media reports, Sanjani's rise began 30 years ago during his military service. At the time, he was the driver of the governor of the Iranian Central Bank, a position that gave him access to influential circles and important business contacts.
In February 2024, Iranian media reported that assets linked to Sanjani had been returned to Iran from abroad. But his fortune had already exceeded the amount of his outstanding debts. In 2025, he was released from prison and went back to business. Through one of his companies, he signed a multi-billion dollar contract with the Iranian state railways. At the same time, he sought to improve his image. In an open letter to Elon Musk, he offered his company as a bridge for economic cooperation between Iran and the United States. Today, he presents himself as an entrepreneur, mediator, and advocate of dialogue.
After the US re-designated Sanjani in 2026, it expanded its sanctions in July to a larger network of companies and business partners linked to him. Just a day before the new sanctions were announced, Sanjani opened a café and a pastry shop in Tehran. They were closed by the authorities the next day.
Tehran is already struggling
The main question, however, is whether the latest US sanctions are really reaching the networks that support Iran's shadow economy. Jamshid Asadi believes that many of the traditional ways to circumvent sanctions are already known and Tehran is finding it increasingly difficult to use them. The US has warned a number of countries that businesses, banks and private sector representatives are at risk of sanctions if they support Iran in circumventing restrictions.
At the same time, over the past decades, Iran has learned to adapt to economic pressure and find new ways to overcome sanctions. Therefore, the question remains whether Washington's latest measures will really significantly weaken these networks. The return of Babak Sanjani shows that Tehran is clearly once again counting on businessmen who have previously helped the country cope with economic isolation and withstand pressure.