US Sanctions Crypto Exchanges Accused of Laundering Billions for Iran

The US Department of the Treasury has sanctioned two cryptocurrency exchanges, Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether, as well as an Iran-born businessman named Siavash Kayvanpour.

The department accused them of operating a multinational network of companies involved in illicit cryptocurrency transactions to support the Iranian regime and terrorist groups.

The Treasury Department stated that these entities use 'sprawling corporate networks' and 'unlicensed or lightly regulated digital currency exchange platforms,' as well as a gambling operation, to launder billions of dollars.

According to the department, addresses associated with Shelbit sent more than $2 million to wallets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), while Kayvanpour's controlled addresses transferred over $2 million to Nobitex, another Iranian cryptocurrency exchange that Washington had previously sanctioned.

The Treasury Department also reported that Shelbit was used to launder tens of millions of dollars in digital assets through a large Persian-language online gambling network, and Aban Tether processed millions of dollars in transactions with previously sanctioned Iranian exchanges.