DOJ Probes JPMorgan, Citi Over Khamenei Money Flows — Bloomberg 

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Wall Street banks including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup helped move money tied to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, four officials told Bloomberg.

The inquiry stems from a broader examination of money-laundering and corruption allegations. Investigators are reviewing whether the two banks had a role in large transfers between firms overseen by Khamenei, three of the officials said.

The review also covers the part played by U.S. correspondent banks and whether due-diligence gaps at American institutions allowed the financial flows, according to the report.

The existence of the probe does not mean charges will be filed, Bloomberg said. The officials said Khamenei is the main target.

JPMorgan and Citigroup declined to comment, as did a Justice Department representative. Khamenei did not respond to messages sent through Iran’s embassies in the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom or its mission to the United Nations.

European and Middle Eastern lenders have also drawn scrutiny, three of the officials said. Investigators are studying property-related payments the network made to global brands, including Hilton Worldwide, one official said.

The investigation grew more diplomatically sensitive as Washington and Tehran moved toward an interim peace deal, three of the officials said, given Khamenei’s role in the decision. The agreement, signed Wednesday, aims to end the war and open talks on long-running issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.

Molly Moeser, head of the Justice Department’s money laundering, narcotics and forfeiture section, warned in May that Tehran was seeking access to the U.S. financial system. Iran “looks for every opportunity to use shell companies” to reach the U.S. dollar, she told a legal conference in New York.

“Iran looks for every opportunity to use shell companies” to reach the U.S. dollar. — Molly Moeser, U.S. Justice Department

Khamenei became supreme leader in March, after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike at the start of the Iran war. He has not appeared in public since taking office.

Property network

Bloomberg reported in January that Khamenei, who was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2019 over his work for the government in Tehran, had built a business empire spanning Persian Gulf shipping, Swiss bank accounts and British luxury property. Funds moved through institutions in the U.K., Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the UAE.

Before becoming supreme leader, Khamenei relied heavily on financier Ali Ansari, whose banking, construction and trading interests served as a conduit for shifting funds abroad. Shell companies, many run by Ansari, were used to acquire luxury homes and five-star hotels across Europe, including several operated by Hilton.

U.K. authorities sanctioned Ansari in October 2025, accusing him of financially supporting the activities of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Through his lawyer, Ansari has denied any relationship with Khamenei and said he would appeal the measures.

Ownership of several entities in the alleged network has changed in recent months, with Ansari’s name replaced by others close to him, according to the report. One official said the moves raised questions about whether the changes were meant to conceal ownership rather than reflect a genuine shift in control.

Hilton opened an internal review after Bloomberg’s earlier reporting to assess whether its management ties to a hotel in Germany could expose it to sanctions risk. The company declined to comment for the latest report.

A wider campaign

The Justice Department’s work coincided with a Trump administration pressure campaign on Tehran, dubbed “Operation Economic Fury.” Washington has taken particular interest in networks overseen by Iran’s ruling elite, including Khamenei and Hossein Shamkhani, the son of a former top adviser to the late supreme leader.

Both men used proxies, shell companies and law firms to obscure corporate relationships, Bloomberg reported. In March, the Justice Department filed civil forfeiture complaints tied to Shamkhani’s network of firms.