Treasury Cracks Down on Shelbit and Aban Tether over Alleged IRGC Links

The U.S. Treasury Department has intensified its financial crackdown on Iran by imposing sanctions on two cryptocurrency exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether, for allegedly funneling millions of dollars in digital assets to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other sanctioned entities.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Dubai-linked Shelbit and Iran-based Aban Tether on Friday, alleging they processed millions of dollars in transactions for the IRGC and other sanctioned organizations. The Treasury also blacklisted Siavash Kayvanpour, an Iranian national identified as Shelbit's operator, along with a network of companies he controls in Georgia, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Treasury's investigation mapped out a web of transactions linking the exchanges directly to the IRGC, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. According to the Treasury, IRGC-controlled wallets transferred over $1 million in cryptocurrency to addresses tied to Shelbit, while Shelbit-linked wallets allegedly sent over $2 million back to IRGC wallets.