Key Highlights
- The UK has initiated a compulsory strike-off against Zedxion Exchange for providing false company details and alleged links to illegal financial activities.
- The exchange is connected to Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani and allegedly helped move about $1 billion linked to Iran’s military group (IRGC).
- Investigators found the company used a fake director with a stock photo, indicating clear signs of deception.
Britain’s company register, Companies House, is moving to shut down Zedxion Exchange Ltd., a cryptocurrency platform accused of handling funds for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
According to the published notice, authorities found that the exchange provided false information, including listing a director who did not exist.
The move follows U.S. sanctions imposed in January by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which named both Zedxion and a related platform, Zedcex, over connections to Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani.
Use of a fake director and hidden identity
An investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) discovered that Zedxion’s listed director, Elizabeth Newman, a supposed citizen of the Dominican Republic, was likely a fake identity.
The company reportedly used a stock photo to represent her in marketing videos. Before Newman, the record shows that a person named Babak Morteza, whose details match Zanjani’s, was listed as the director and “Person with Significant Control” from October 2021 to August 2022.
Zanjani had previously been sentenced to death in Iran for embezzling state oil funds, but his sentence was reduced in 2024, and he returned to business.
TRM Lab reports large crypto transfer linked to IRGC
Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs reported that Zedxion and Zedcex processed roughly $1 billion linked to the IRGC. In 2024, these payments were about 87% of their total transactions.
In 2025, the amount dropped to around 48% as other transactions increased, but they still handled large sums connected to the Iranian military group. Also, the exchanges’ filings showed dormant accounts, which highlight a contrast between reported activity and actual financial flows.
The U.S. sanctions noted that both exchanges had processed multiple payments for wallets tied to the IRGC. OFAC said Zanjani helped fund “major projects that support the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian regime more broadly.”
Companies House tightens oversight
Companies House is now using powers under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 to check the identities of company directors and people who control companies. They also make sure companies are set up for legal purposes.
Zanjani also reportedly heads DotOne Holding Group, a business conglomerate involved in cryptocurrency, foreign exchange, logistics, and telecommunications sectors commonly used in sanctions evasion networks.
Meanwhile, this comes as Iran continues to expand its crypto infrastructure. Early this month, analytics firm Chainalysis reported that at least $154 billion in digital assets flowed to addresses linked to the IRGC last year, marking a 162% increase from the previous year.
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