One System to Rule Them All: The Unified Foreign Currency System is Helping the Iranian Regime Evade Sanctions

WikIran presents a detailed analysis of the leaked Rahbar network, exposing numerous entities involved in the Iranian Shadow Banking system and revealing an elaborated operation of clandestine transactions between exchange houses and front companies

Our earlier database revealed the internal materials of HMS Trading and Petro Delta Energy Co. (PDECO), the UAE-based branches of Iranian Rahbar companies Farab Saroush Afagh Qeshm (FSAQ) and Tejarat Hermes Energy Qeshem (THEQ), which operate on behalf of Bank Shahr.

FSAQ and THEQ are both part of the Iranian Rahbar mechanism. As previously explained, these companies serve as intermediaries between the Iranian banks, exchange houses and front companies. Many of those entities are sanctioned and therefore barred from the international financial ecosystem, leaving them reliant on covert infrastructures to facilitate illicit trade of sanctionable goods, such as oil and petrochemical products, and to transfer foreign currency funds back into Iran.

Now, WikIran has obtained a new dataset: a small collection of screenshots and files that appear to originate from the Iranian Unified Foreign Currency Management System. This system appears to be the tool used to manage and oversee the activities of several Rahbar companies. It is used to produce reports, manage processes, handle user permissions for personnel, and more. The screenshots and the files are an invaluable resource for understand the shadow banking mechanism, as they appear to list the clients, front companies, exchange houses, bank accounts and brokers involved in this complex sanction-busting operation.

The screenshots appear to come from a computer used by the system administrator, Hadi Khani. His name later appears on an employee list for FSAQ, along with his personal phone number.

The following Rahbar companies appear to use the system:

• Farab Saroush Afagh Qeshm (FSAQ) and Tejarat Hermes Energy Qeshem (THEQ) – Previously mentioned as the parent company of HMS and PDECO, operating on behalf of Bank Shahr:

o THEQ has been sanctioned by the US Treasury since January 2026 for overseeing the commercial trade activities of Bank Shahr’s Rahbar network. Three of the company’s senior officials have also been designated.

o FSAQ was designated in April 2026 for financing, providing guarantees and facilitating payments to producers of sanctioned Iranian oil. Many of the company’s employees have also been designated over the years. The first one was Chairman Hossein Yaghoubi Miab, designated since 2018 for his role in supporting to the IRGC-QF. Foreign exchange expert Sorayya Mehri Hajibaba and company affiliate Seyyed Mohammed Mehdi Al Ghafur have also been designated since April 2026. Seven additional employees were designated recently, in October 2026: Zhila Mohammadi, Milad Katebi, Amir Sabeti, Nazanin Borji, Fatemeh Vasighi Meraji, Azadeh Abdolalopur and Ferzad Alhayar. Many of those names appear in the leak as FSAQ employees.

• Tejari Setareh Taban Kish (TSTK) – A Rahbar company operating on behalf of Bank Sepah. This company was first exposed by WikIran in September 2025 as the only documented Rahbar company for the bank. It’s Managing Director, Alireza Kahkoui, and its Chairman, Amir Hosseini, were both designated by the US Treasury in October 2026, along with the company itself.

• Bazargani Nasim Baharan Qeshm (BNBQ) – Another company identified in the leak. It could potentially belong to bank Mellat or Bank Sarmayeh, both prominent Iranian banks that appear frequently throughout the materials.

The materials also include a wealth of information regarding Exchange houses and brokers. Among the exchange houses identified in the materials are sanctioned entities previously exposed here on WikIran, including Berlian Exchange (sanctioned in June 2025), part of the Zarrin Ghalam Group and managed by Naser Zarrin Ghalam, Sadaf Exchange (sanctioned in June 2024), managed by Seyyed Mohammad Mosannai Najibi and Opal Exchange (AKA Pedram Pirouzan and Associates Partnership Company, sanctioned since May 2026), managed by Pedram Pirouzan and Hossein Mohammad Rezaei. In addition to exchange houses, the documents mention prominent brokers, such as Reza Dinadar’s Arzesh Afarinan Misagh Sadra. The materials also include information regarding the currencies used for transfers (US Dollar, Euro, Chinese Yuan, Emirati Dirham and Russian Rubel), as well as the interest rates and discounts given to certain brokers and intermediaries.