Iran Blockchain Community stated that Washington has confiscated more than 500 military-technical vehicles belonging to Iranians as part of the US sanctions policy.
According to the head of the Iran Blockchain Association, the confiscation began last year and the process is still ongoing. Iran Blockchain Community is a non-profit and self-governing community of entrepreneurs, experts, specialists, activists and blockchain technology enthusiasts. Sepeh Mohammadi, the head of the association, admitted that the volume of bitcoins seized is unknown, but it is believed to be more than 500 BTC, worth about $6 million. Recently, data was made public about the outflow of $2.5 billion from the country to purchase cryptocurrency abroad. Potentially, all of this currency is at risk of confiscation by the United States federal government.
Mohammadi notes that the Iran Blockchain community will be able to file international lawsuits and operate within the framework of international law. Unfortunately, at the moment it has not been possible to find a legal specialist willing to defend the rights of Iranians using international standards. Iranian citizens affected by cryptocurrency confiscation do not have the legal rights to file lawsuits against the United States, due to the legal status of cryptocurrency in Iran. In the spring, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) banned transactions with cryptocurrency and limited user access to crypto exchanges. Despite this, the Iranian government is considering using crypto assets to evade US economic sanctions. The Iranian Parliament considers digital currencies as one of the main opportunities to avoid the consequences of sanctions and plans to discuss this issue. The government has even begun developing its own cryptocurrency, but it is not yet possible to completely transfer the country’s economy to a cryptocurrency track.
If the Iran Blockchain Community manages to start legal proceedings regarding confiscated crypto assets, this could set a precedent in the international right.
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