Why did the US sanction Zanjani's airline, rail and gold conglomerate?
Timeline for DotOne Value Creation Group
OFAC names four in Zanjani network
Iran Conflict 2026Background
OFAC designated DotOne Value Creation Group on 24 July 2026 alongside its Airlines, Barter, Gold, Rail and Trip arms, naming the holding company as the umbrella for Babak Zanjani's re-emerged Iranian business empire.
Zanjani re-emerged as chief executive and financial backer of the group after his 2016 death sentence was commuted to 20 years' imprisonment in April 2024. DotOne Rail secured an estimated $800 million contract with Iran's state railway in April 2025, and DotOne Gold has minted and custodied gold bars, including a gold-backed digital token marketed as Tala Token.
Treasury frames the group as the commercial ecosystem through which Zanjani has rebuilt sanctions-evasion capacity across transport, gold and payments, an airline, a barter Arm and a rail operator that Washington says cannot be quickly re-registered elsewhere. Several DotOne entities carry a secondary-sanctions flag, meaning banks that process their payments risk losing their own access to dollar clearing.
What is DotOne Value Creation Group?
Why did the US sanction DotOne?
Who owns DotOne Value Creation Group?
What does DotOne Rail do?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 25 July 2026. Editorial standards.
