US Sanctions Dubai Crypto Exchange for Alleged Iran 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 (IRGC) and other groups linked to the Iranian state.
A Reuters investigation published on July 31 identified Shelbit as a key player in a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion scheme. The exchange was found to have moved cryptocurrency on behalf of Iran's central bank, one of the world's largest online gambling networks, and to addresses linked to the IRGC by the Israeli government.
The US Treasury also sanctioned Siavash Kayvanpour, an expatriate Iranian who founded 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 on June 2 for enabling the Iranian government to circumvent Western sanctions.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that his department 'will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat.'