Mystery $1.3bn UK firm and the empire sanctioned for 'Tehran tollbooth' fees

A UK firm named Bitbankers Investment Ltd, established in May 2024, has been shut down by regulators after being sanctioned by the US. The company, controlled by Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani, was accused of processing funds for cryptocurrency wallets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for the Strait of Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, which runs a tollbooth in Tehran.

Bitbankers Investment's accounts indicate it was initially registered with a £1 billion capital and had £10 million (£13.2 million) in its bank account as of May 2025. The company's business activities included administration of financial markets, insurance agents, and brokers. Another UK-registered firm, Dot One Group Ltd, was also sanctioned by the US in July 2025.

Dot One Group's business included freight rail transport, taxi operations, road freight transport, and scheduled passenger air transport. Both companies were found to have the same brass plate address and were moved to a default address by Companies House when they failed to provide an appropriate registered office address. Companies House may have struck off the companies due to a "reasonable cause to believe the company was registered in a false basis," or because potential reports were filed to them.