US Authorities Seize $600K USDT From Iranian Drone Program Operator – Details

The Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts has announced the confiscation of nearly $600,000 in USDT from Iranian national Mohammad Abedini. Concurrently, US authorities are also seeking the civil forfeiture of the seized crypto assets.

Abedini Faces US Case Over Alleged Iran Drone Role

In a statement released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday, Abedini is named the founder and managing director of SDRA, an Iranian firm accused of supplying critical technology to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

In particular, SDRA specializes in the production of navigation modules, including its flagship product, the Sepehr Navigation System, which has been widely integrated into the IRGC’s fleet of military drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.

According to prosecutors, Abedini’s company has worked closely with the IRGC Aerospace Force, which is regarded as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), since at least 2014. Between 2021 and 2022, roughly 99% of SDRA’s sales of the Sepehr Navigation System, designed for one-way attack drones, were made directly to the IRGC Aerospace Force. 

In January 2024, forensic analysis of a drone strike that killed three US service members and injured more than 40 others at Tower 22, a military installation in northern Jordan, identified the vector as an Iranian-made Shahed UAV, equipped with the Sepehr Navigation System manufactured by SDRA. Abedini was arrested by Italian authorities in December 2024 and was charged in federal court in Boston for providing digital and material support to a foreign terrorist organization. However, the Iranian national was soon released by the Italian government and is now believed to be in Iran.

The DOJ Case For USDT Forfeiture

US authorities have also seized $584,741 USDT from an un-hosted wallet address believed to belong to Abedini. Presently, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts has filed for a civil forfeiture action, which would allow the DOJ to take control of these crypto assets without needing to convict Abedini. US authorities have explained its rationale behind this case, stating:

US law authorizes the forfeiture of all assets of individuals or entities engaged in planning or perpetrating a federal crime of terrorism against the United States, citizens or residents of the United States, or their property and all assets, foreign or domestic, affording any person a source of influence over any such entity.

Interestingly, all claims by the DOJ in the civil forfeiture and also criminal complaints remain merely allegations, designating Abedini as an innocent man until proven otherwise.