{"id":240631,"date":"2026-08-08T07:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/240631\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:52:14","slug":"us-sanctions-dubai-crypto-exchange-for-aiding-irans-revolutionary-guards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/240631\/","title":{"rendered":"US sanctions Dubai crypto exchange for aiding Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States on Friday sanctioned an unlicensed multi-state cryptocurrency exchange, alleging it processed millions of dollars of crypto for Iran\u2019s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other groups linked to the Iranian state.<\/p>\n

The designation follows a Reuters investigation published on July 31 that identified the Dubai-based exchange, Shelbit, as the hub of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion scheme. The investigation found that Shelbit moved crypto on behalf of Iran\u2019s central bank, one of the world\u2019s largest illegal online gambling networks, and to addresses linked by the Israeli government to the IRGC.<\/p>\n

The US Treasury also sanctioned the expatriate Iranian who founded Shelbit and a network of other companies, Siavash Kayvanpour, for providing material support to the IRGC and Nobitex, Iran\u2019s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. The US sanctioned Nobitex on June 2 for enabling the Iranian government to circumvent Western sanctions, also after a Reuters investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cTreasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat,\u201d Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Also on Friday, the US Treasury announced it had sanctioned Aban Tether, an Iran-based crypto exchange, for processing millions of dollars of transactions for sanctioned Iranian entities including Nobitex.<\/p>\n

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Shelbit\u2019s website had been down for months, with no way for customers to carry out transactions, but the exchange continued to process money, even during the US and Israeli war against Iran. The site reactivated the day after the Reuters investigation was published.<\/p>\n

\u201cShelbit LLC categorically rejects any suggestion that the company knowingly participated in money laundering, terrorist financing, illegal gambling activity, sanctions evasion, or activity on behalf of any sanctioned, military, or governmental organization,\u201d Shelbit said in a statement on its reactivated website on August 1. Shelbit also said it had ceased operations in January 2026.<\/p>\n

Shelbit and Kayvanpour did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUniformed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wave a Shiite religious flag during the funeral procession for Iranian supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family in Tehran, Iran, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n

Tens of millions of dollars of the crypto that passed through Shelbit came from a suspected Iranian bitcoin mining operation, which mints new digital coins. Many millions of dollars more were linked to the illegal gambling network operated by two high-profile Iranian social media influencers, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iranian regime\u2019s willingness to allow this gambling network to operate highlights its hypocrisy and corruption,\u201d Treasury said in the statement published on its website.<\/p>\n

The OFAC designation comes soon after Dubai\u2019s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or VARA, issued a notice saying Shelbit was in violation of money-laundering and terrorism financing laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe exposure identified by VARA extends beyond consumer protection to more egregious cross-border transactions with the propension to impact the integrity of the UAE financial system,\u201d VARA said in a notice on its website on July 24, shortly after Reuters approached the authority for comment.<\/p>\n

VARA did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n


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