Shelbit Crypto Exchange Exposed for Facilitating $4B Iranian Sanctions Evasion

An investigation by Reuters uncovered a massive Iranian sanctions evasion network that used a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange called Shelbit as its central hub. Shelbit processed billions of dollars in digital assets, despite having no functional public website and lacking a license to operate.

The exchange was linked to an offshore illegal gambling operation, Iranian bitcoin mining, and the Central Bank of Iran, which allegedly used the payment processing system to bypass international banking restrictions.

Roy Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari, two prominent Iranian social media influencers, fronted the Farsi-language online gambling network, which consisted of over 2,000 websites offering slots, blackjack, and roulette. They were convicted in absentia by an Iranian court in 2023 alongside Shelbit founder Siavash Kayvanpour in an illegal gambling case.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were routed to Binance through Shelbit, with at least $676 million transferred since May 2024. Binance stated that Shelbit never held a direct account and that transfers were not flagged as high-risk by third-party analytics, but froze relevant accounts and reported them to authorities when compliance flags were triggered.

The US Treasury Department confirmed that the Office of Foreign Assets Control is taking the allegations 'very seriously' as part of ongoing efforts to target Iranian digital asset networks.