The Cat and the Stock-Footage CEO: How a Digital Trail Helped Unmask an Iranian Money Machine

An investigative report links UK-registered crypto exchanges Zedxion and Zedcex—publicly fronted by a likely fictitious “Elizabeth Newman”—to Iranian businessman Babak Morteza Zanjani and the IRGC’s sanctions‑evasion and financing activities, including moving roughly $1B since 2023 and over $94B in total transactions despite filings claiming dormancy. Evidence cited includes director changes, shared addresses, website claims, a whitepaper with Zanjani in metadata, and a video showing the Zedcex platform, with TRM Labs asserting ties to payments benefiting the Houthis; the piece also highlights the UK’s evolving but belated Companies House identity verification regime.