US Sanctions Dubai Crypto Exchange Over Alleged IRGC Money Laundering

The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Shelbit, a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly facilitating millions of dollars in crypto transactions for Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other state-linked groups.

This move follows a Reuters investigation that identified Shelbit as central to a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion network. The probe revealed that the exchange moved crypto for Iran's central bank, a major illegal online gambling operation, and addresses linked by the Israeli government to the IRGC.

The US Treasury also sanctioned Siavash Kayvanpour, the expatriate Iranian founder of Shelbit and its associated companies, for providing material support to the IRGC and Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Nobitex itself was sanctioned on June 2 for enabling the Iranian government to bypass Western sanctions.

Additionally, the Treasury announced sanctions against Aban Tether, an Iran-based crypto exchange, for processing millions in transactions for sanctioned Iranian entities, including Nobitex.