DOJ Seizes $584,000 USDT Linked to Iran Drone Supplier

• The DOJ seeks civil forfeiture of $584,741 in USDT tied to Iran drone activities.
• Mohammad Abedini and SDRA are accused of supplying navigation systems to the IRGC.
• Stablecoins in non-custodial wallets face new compliance action from U.S. regulators.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts has launched a civil forfeiture action to seize $584,741 in Tether (USDT) from an Iranian national accused of supplying technology to the country’s military. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the tokens were reportedly held in an unhosted cryptocurrency wallet. Officials said the case reflects an expansion of sanctions enforcement into decentralized finance, an area often seen as outside traditional oversight.

Iranian Firm and Drone Supply Links

Authorities identified the wallet as controlled by Mohammad Abedini, 39, founder and managing director of San’at Danesh Rahpooyan Aflak Co. (SDRA). The DOJ said Abedini and SDRA supplied navigation modules to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) drone and missile program. According to a DOJ press release, the modules included the Sepehr Navigation System. 

U.S. officials allege these systems were used in unmanned aerial vehicles and guided munitions by the IRGC Aerospace Force, and the same technology was reportedly involved in a January 2024 drone strike in northern Jordan that killed three U.S. service members and injured dozens.

SDRA’s technology was also provided to the manufacturer of Shahed drones, which were widely used in Iran’s military. It was also used by Russia in its war against Ukraine. Further, it is being used by multiple armed groups. The DOJ maintains that the wallet in question is directly linked to these sanctioned activities.

Allegations Against Mohammad Abedini

Abedini faces charges of providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations resulting in death and faces accusations of conspiracy to procure sensitive U.S. technology used in military drones. Italian authorities detained him in December 2024 but released him in January 2025. The DOJ now believes he resides in Iran.

Moreover, claims from an NGO, Iran Watch, allege that between 2016 and 2024, Abedini and a business partner smuggled U.S.-origin electronics and technical data from American manufacturers. The items were allegedly re-exported from Switzerland to Iran. Due to their size, the devices could have been transported in a suitcase. However, the allegations remain unproven.

According to the DOJ’s filings, Abedini’s activities directly connected SDRA to Iran’s drone operations and raised concerns about sanctioned technology bypassing restrictions. This case is among the first to link civil forfeiture to stablecoins in decentralized wallets.

Related: DOJ Says DeFi Coders Are Safe Without Criminal Intent

Stablecoin Enforcement and New Territory

Civil forfeiture has long been used to recover financial assets tied to criminal or terrorism-related activity. Now, the DOJ is extending its use into decentralized finance, planning to test the limits of existing enforcement frameworks on assets stored outside exchanges or banks.

The DOJ said USDT’s role in global finance adds urgency. Tether is widely used for transactions due to its parity with the U.S. dollar and its liquidity. Officials argue these traits also make it an easy channel for misuse by sanctioned persons attempting to obfuscate funds.

As regulators move ahead with enforcement, this case raises an important question: Can stablecoins in non-custodial wallets stay beyond the scope of a legal inquiry if they are tied to illicit networks?

The DOJ articulates that digital funds can be traced and linked to sanctioned individuals. They can be seized under U.S. law, even from unhosted wallets. This seizure shows that stablecoins like Tether will also face stricter compliance rules, and ownership or transaction methods will not exempt assets from regulation.

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