JAKARTA - United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the seizure of Iranian cryptocurrency assets worth up to 1 billion US dollars (Rp. 17.8 trillion) as well as coordination efforts with allies in Europe to seize other assets related to Tehran.
"I believe we have seized their crypto assets worth about $1 billion," Bessent said on Friday, adding that the US was like "directly taking their wallets".
He even said that some asset holders were unaware that their assets had been seized. "Some of them may still be typing right now, and are aware that they are unaware that their wallets have been taken," he said, quoted by Antara from Anadolu.
The US Treasury said it was continuing to coordinate with its allies to seize even more assets.
"We are working with allies across Europe to seize villas, houses, and properties," said Bessent, who claimed that the move was to recover funds stolen from the Iranian people.
"These assets come from money stolen from the Iranian people," said the US Treasury.
The US Treasury also said that Iran's oil export facilities on Kharg Island were dead following the US naval blockade.
He added that Iran's attacks on Gulf countries have backfired in terms of diplomacy, as they are now "very good partners" in trying to crack down on Tehran through financial channels.
"Therefore, the US can also freeze Iranian bank accounts in the region," said Bessent.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
