The Department of Justice is investigating whether Wall Street giants JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup helped facilitate massive financial transactions for Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. According to a Bloomberg report citing anonymous officials, the federal probe is part of a wider effort to trace a complex web of global money laundering and crack down on foreign corruption.
Investigators are currently tracking large movements of money between entities managed by Khamenei. They want to determine if US banks aided these transfers, allowing the Iranian leader to quietly build a substantial investment portfolio with deep ties to American financial institutions.
The scrutiny extends far beyond New York. European and Middle Eastern banks are also under the microscope, alongside major international brands like Hilton Worldwide Holdings. Officials say Khamenei’s network—which spans from Persian Gulf shipping operations to high-end British real estate—has funneled cash through banking systems in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the United Arab Emirates.
While the DOJ’s primary objective is to uncover systemic vulnerabilities in the US financial framework rather than guarantee criminal charges, officials have long warned about Iran’s persistence.
At an industry conference in New York this past May, Molly Moeser, the head of the DOJ’s money laundering division, highlighted the ongoing game of cat-and-mouse. “The efforts collectively of the government over the last 10 years have really driven Iran out of legitimate financial institutions,” Moeser stated. However, she added that “because the US dollar is still the most stable currency and the currency everybody wants to make payments in, Iran looks for every opportunity to use shell companies, use shadow structures to still get access to the US dollar.”
Before rising to his current position, Khamenei reportedly relied on financier Ali Ansari to move funds abroad. Using a network of shell companies, Ansari allegedly acquired luxury real estate and five-star hotels across Europe, including properties managed by Hilton. Ansari was sanctioned by the US government in October 2025 for providing financial backing to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), though his legal counsel has denied any connection to Khamenei. Khamenei himself was personally sanctioned by the US in 2019 for his close cooperation with the IRGC leadership.
In recent months, intelligence officials noticed that several entities within Khamenei’s financial empire were re-registered under new names, shifting away from Ansari in what appeared to be an explicit attempt to mask true ownership.
Following earlier disclosures about these transactions, Hilton initiated an internal review to assess its exposure to US sanctions, specifically regarding two German properties: the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre and the Hilton Frankfurt Gravenbruch. Despite internal warnings that maintaining these relationships could pose serious regulatory and reputational risks, booking options for both locations remain active on Hilton’s official website.
The broader geopolitical stakes remain high. Khamenei assumed power in June following the death of his father in US-Israeli airstrikes. The younger leader was reportedly severely wounded in those same attacks and has not made a public appearance since taking office. President Trump, who is scheduled to discuss Iran with Middle Eastern leaders at the upcoming G7 forum next week, recently described the younger Khamenei as “more rational,” while simultaneously threatening to seize Iran’s uranium by force to prevent an endless conflict.
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