US Slams Shut Shelbit Crypto Exchange for Aiding Iranian Regime
The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange, Shelbit, for allegedly processing millions of dollars in crypto transactions on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other groups linked to the Iranian state.
A Reuters investigation published on July 31 identified Shelbit as a hub for a $4bn Iranian sanctions evasion scheme. The exchange was found to be moving crypto on behalf of Iran's central bank and to addresses linked by the Israeli government to the IRGC.
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 stated that 'Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat.'