The US Treasury announced sanctions on eight Canadian businesses on November 6, 2026, accusing them of helping Iranian entities evade financial restrictions. The measures effectively cut the firms off from the US dollar-based financial system, block any assets they hold in the United States and bar transactions with US people and entities, CBC reported.

What the US says the firms did

A US State Department statement said the businesses exchanged Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets, allowing Iran’s regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other sanctioned actors to move money into and out of Iran. Canada lists the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

The State Department also said several firms sent funds to digital-asset accounts linked to the IRGC and other terrorist activity. Many, it said, dealt with Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges already sanctioned by the United States. The allegations describe financial services that could move funds into and out of Iran through digital assets.

CBC named seven of the eight designated businesses: Diverse Trade Inc., which operates as Million Exchange; 1380079 BC Limited, doing business as Amin Exchange; Top PC Technician Inc.; NIA Nations Currency Ltd.; 2397639 Ontario Ltd., operating as Farah Exchange; B Galaxy Inc., which operates as Cryptoyal; and Darvish Exchange. CBC also said B Galaxy shares an Ontario location with CCC Inc., but did not identify CCC as a sanctioned business. The eighth company is not identified in CBC’s account.

The State Department said some businesses changed their names and addresses to avoid detection, and continued operating despite public reporting about the risks. The Treasury’s action targets firms in Ontario and British Columbia.

The alleged link to Ryan Wedding

The Treasury said three of the businesses also helped Ryan Wedding launder bulk cash from criminal activity by converting it into digital assets. It said millions of dollars’ worth of digital funds were sent abroad before Wedding’s arrest in January 2026. The accounts do not identify which three firms were involved or how much each handled.

Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, was arrested in Mexico and taken to the United States to face drug-trafficking, murder and attempted-murder charges, according to The Canadian Press. He remains in federal custody awaiting trials scheduled for March and October 2027. The accusations about the businesses’ dealings with him are separate from his own legal status.

Why the action reaches beyond Canada

The US State Department said the United States coordinated the sanctions with Canada, including its financial intelligence unit, FINTRAC. It described the action as part of Operation Economic Outcast, a US effort to cut revenue the Iranian regime uses to fund terrorism, weapons proliferation and regional proxies.

The move follows the Trump administration’s expansion in August 2026 of secondary sanctions the United States can impose on entities and countries that maintain business ties with Iran. The latest designations target eight Canadian businesses over alleged Iran-related sanctions evasion, while the reported dollar-system limits give the action a direct financial consequence for the firms.