Eight Canadian money services businesses in Ontario and British Columbia were sanctioned by the US Treasury on Friday under what OFAC is…

Eight Canadian money services businesses in Ontario and British Columbia were sanctioned by the US Treasury on Friday under what OFAC is calling "Operation Economic Outcast." Treasury alleges they helped Iranian entities evade US sanctions.

The designated entities are Diverse Trade Inc (Million Exchange), 1380079 BC Limited and its affiliate Top PC Technician Inc (both operating as Amin Exchange), NIA Nations Currency Ltd, 2397639 Ontario Ltd (Farah Exchange), CCC Inc, B Galaxy Inc (Cryptoyal) and Darvish Exchange.

The alleged method is familiar. Treasury says the firms converted Iranian rials and other currencies into digital assets to move money internationally for Iran-linked entities. Small exchange shops acting as crypto on-ramps for sanctioned money.

The detail I keep coming back to is the overlap. Treasury says several of these same businesses, including Million Exchange, Amin Exchange and Farah Exchange, also worked with Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder accused by US authorities of running one of the world's largest cocaine networks.

Treasury alleges Wedding laundered billions in drug proceeds through exchange businesses around Vancouver and Toronto, and used several of the designated firms to move millions of dollars in digital assets before he was apprehended in January and taken into US custody. State-linked sanctions evasion and alleged drug money running through the same counters says a lot about how these networks share infrastructure.

Scott Bessent said Canada "cannot be a safe haven," and on the same day President Trump said the US is talking to Iran, with Qatar describing a call with Trump about mediation and de-escalation. So Washington is squeezing the money channels while keeping the diplomatic line open. This was not Washington acting alone, either: Treasury and FINTRAC both say the action was coordinated with Canada's financial intelligence unit.

FINTRAC says it has revoked 161 money services business registrations since the start of 2026 and imposed more than $198 million in penalties on nine such businesses over the past year. My question is what Canadian enforcement against these specific firms looks like next, and what FINTRAC knew about them before Friday.

Sources:
OFAC (Treasury): https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20261106
Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-06/us-sanctions-eight-canadian-companies-over-iran-transactions
The Canadian Press: https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/national/u-s-treasury-sanctions-canadian-firms-connected-to-ryan-wedding/article_6e56758c-0fc0-55cc-96b6-717d44c6b31f.html

Not financial advice. For informational and educational purposes only.