US Sanctions Dubai Crypto Exchange for Alleged Iran Ties
The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Shelbit, a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly processing millions of dollars in transactions for Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other sanctioned groups.
The designation follows a Reuters investigation that found Shelbit was at the center of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion scheme. The exchange moved cryptocurrencies on behalf of Iran's central bank, an illegal online gambling network, and to addresses linked to the IRGC.
The US Treasury also sanctioned Siavash Kayvanpour, the expatriate Iranian founder of Shelbit and several other companies, for providing material support to the IRGC and Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Nobitex was previously sanctioned in June for enabling the Iranian government to circumvent Western sanctions.
The Treasury said it will continue to hunt down and dismantle illicit financial networks that support the Iranian regime. Shelbit's website had been offline for months but reactivated after the Reuters investigation was published, despite the exchange's claims of ceasing operations in January 2026.