US Hits Dubai Crypto Exchange with Sanctions Over Alleged IRGC Ties

The US Treasury has sanctioned Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Shelbit for allegedly processing millions of dollars in transactions for Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other groups linked to the Iranian state.

According to a Reuters investigation, Shelbit was at the center of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion scheme. The exchange moved crypto on behalf of Iran's central bank, one of the world's largest illegal online gambling networks, and to addresses linked by the Israeli government to the IRGC.

The US Treasury also sanctioned Siavash Kayvanpour, the expatriate Iranian founder of Shelbit and a network of other companies, for providing material support to the IRGC and Nobitex, Iran's biggest cryptocurrency exchange. Nobitex was previously sanctioned by the US in June for enabling the Iranian government to circumvent Western sanctions.

Aban Tether, an Iran-based crypto exchange, was also sanctioned by the US Treasury for processing millions of dollars in transactions for sanctioned Iranian entities, including Nobitex.