US Sanctions Crypto Exchanges Accused of Laundering Millions for Iran's Revolutionary Guard
The US Treasury has sanctioned two cryptocurrency exchanges, Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether, for allegedly laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. According to the Treasury, Shelbit received over $1 million in cryptocurrency from Iranian armed forces-linked wallets and sent more than $2 million back to these wallets, as well as an additional $2 million to Nobitex, a previously sanctioned Iranian exchange.
The Treasury also alleges that Shelbit laundered tens of millions of dollars from a Persian-language online gambling network. The sanctions come under the 'Economic Fury' campaign, which aims to increase economic pressure on Iran's financial sector and its support for terrorism.
A rewards program is offering up to $15 million for information that disrupts the Iranian military's financial machinery. The Treasury has previously frozen $131 million in Iran-linked cryptocurrency and seized around $1 billion in Iranian crypto since the campaign began.