Iranian sues Coinbase over $2.8m crypto seizure

An Iranian national living in Spain has initiated legal proceedings against Coinbase Europe in Ireland’s Commercial Court regarding the alleged seizure of roughly $2.8 million in cryptocurrency assets [1]. Ali Asghar Afrouz, 74, claims the platform wrongfully froze Bitcoin and Ethereum valued at $2.83 million and failed to provide a clear opportunity to resolve the issue [1][2].

Key takeaways

• Ali Asghar Afrouz is suing Coinbase Europe Ltd and Coinbase Luxembourg SA for the return of $2.8 million in frozen Bitcoin and Ethereum [1][2].
• The funds originated from the sale of a beachfront property in Iran, with intermediaries used to bypass banking sanctions [1][2].
• Afrouz alleges Coinbase provided conflicting reasons for the account lock, ranging from permanent deletion to a seizure by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations [1][2].
• Judge Mark Sanfey admitted the case to the fast-track Commercial Court on Monday [1][2].

Origin of the frozen assets

According to court filings, Afrouz relocated to Spain in 2022 and subsequently sold a beachfront property in Iran for approximately $3 million [1][2]. He stated that sanctions against Iran’s banking system necessitated the use of intermediaries to convert the proceeds into cryptocurrency to access his money in Spain [1][2]. Afrouz opened a Coinbase account in July 2025 and transferred the digital assets from a personal wallet to the platform [1][2]. Following the transfer, Coinbase requested additional verification due to recent account activity but, according to Afrouz, did not clearly specify what information was required [1][2]. He claims the company then locked the account without providing a meaningful chance to address the issue [1][2].

Allegations of conflicting explanations

The plaintiff alleges that Coinbase adopted "wholly contradictory and irreconcilable positions" regarding the status of his funds [2]. In September, the company reportedly notified him of the permanent deletion of his account, yet in October, the support team claimed it was