US Treasury Sanctions Georgia-Based Crypto Firm Over Iran Ties

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Georgia-based SHPS Shelbit and its owner Siavash Kayvanpour for allegedly facilitating cryptocurrency transactions linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and sanctions evasion.

According to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Kayvanpour operates a multi-nation network of companies that support illicit digital currency activity through SHPS Shelbit, which manages the Shelbit Exchange. The OFAC stated that digital currency addresses belonging to the IRGC have sent over $1 million in digital assets to Shelbit Exchange addresses.

The Treasury further alleged that cryptocurrency addresses belonging to or controlled by Kayvanpour transferred more than $2 million in digital assets to Nobitex, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange previously designated by the United States. The OFAC also stated that Shelbit services a large Persian-language gambling website network, through which tens of millions of dollars in digital assets were laundered.

The sanctions block the property and interests in property of designated persons under U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibit U.S. persons from conducting transactions involving them. National Bank of Georgia (NBG) clarified that SHPS Shelbit was not a regulated virtual asset service provider in Georgia, as it had never applied for registration.