Iran accused of seeking British crypto donations to fund regime

Iran has been accused of using crypto donations from Britain to illicitly bolster its finances.

In Telegram posts from the Iranian Embassy,  “compatriots in the United Kingdom” are urged to support humanitarian programs working with civilians affected by the recent US and Israeli airstrikes. 

Though these donations would, ostensibly, be charitable, there are warnings that by encouraging “patriotic” individuals to send Bitcoin and Ethereum, the regime could be seeking to circumvent international sanctions.

This is because it is harder to monitor the source of cryptocurrency transactions and how the money is then spent.

Jonathan Hackett, a retired U.S. counterintelligence agent, told  that given current sanctions do not apply to humanitarian funds, cryptocurrency donations handled by the Iranian regime are likely being directed to other purposes.

“There has always been a carve out for humanitarian aid, which is why these messages are so suspicious. There are mechanisms already that are completely legal and totally free of sanctions,” Mr Hackett explained.

“The regime does not need these cryptocurrency transactions unless there’s some other reason to get these lower-scrutiny transactions very rapidly into the country.”

Since 2018, Iran has faced significant restrictions on its ability to move money in and out of the country. 

President Trump spearheaded the introduction of international sanctions after accusing the regime of using proceeds from oil exports to fund the development of nuclear weapons.

Most notably, the country was blocked from accessing SWIFT, the global network handling banking transactions, making it much harder for the regime to access funds.

Mr Hackett believes that cryptocurrencies transactions are now being used as a means of bolstering Tehran’s finances, moving funds which had previously been channeled out of Iran back into the country.

“If you look at capital flight out of Iran into London in the past five years or so, we’re talking about billions of dollars of regime-linked assets moving into London to shield from the hyperinflation going on in Iran.”

“The regime is using this kind of flood of transactions to hide in plain sight using crypto, especially because they know there are less resources attached to monitoring crypto transactions right now and they’re able to actually escape scrutiny under this timeline they have.”

In recent months, the use of cryptocurrency in British politics has also come under increased scrutiny.

On Wednesday, the government published a landmark report into foreign interference in British democracy, commissioned after Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, was found guilty of taking bribes to promote pro-Russian talking points while he was a member of the European Parliament.

Its author, Phillip Rycroft, recommended that cryptocurrency donations to political parties should be prohibited, with the Prime Minister confirming the ban will be implemented.

The ban is likely to be particularly pertinent to Reform UK, which announced in May 2025 that it would accept donations in Bitcoin; Nigel Farage, the party’s leader, confirmed in October that they had already received a “couple” of such donations, and has confirmed Reform will challenge the ban in the courts.

On the question of the action the government is taking to monitor cryptocurrency activities, a Treasury spokesperson told : “We have a robust package of measures to tackle threats from the Iranian regime.

“We keep that threat constantly under review and will not hesitate to take action wherever and whenever necessary.

“The use of cryptoassets to evade sanctions is treated no differently to the exploitation of traditional currencies.”