The United States has leveled heavy sanctions against Shelbit, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Dubai, along with its founder Siavash Kayvanpour and several affiliated firms. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the exchange served as a critical conduit for millions of dollars in digital assets intended for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian central bank. This move is part of a broader effort by Washington to dismantle clandestine financial networks used by Tehran to bypass international restrictions, which included simultaneous sanctions on Aban Tether for facilitating transactions for other restricted entities like Nobitex.
These enforcement actions follow a detailed Reuters investigation that characterized Shelbit as the center of a massive four billion dollar sanctions evasion scheme. The probe revealed that the platform not only handled state funds but also moved assets for some of the world’s largest illegal online gambling rings. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized the administration’s commitment to hunting down these illicit channels, noting that the Iranian regime’s tolerance for such gambling operations underscores a deep level of systemic hypocrisy and corruption within the state.
Adding to the controversy are reports that tens of millions of dollars passing through Shelbit originated from suspected Iranian bitcoin mining activities and influencer led gambling syndicates. While Shelbit’s website had been offline for months, evidence suggests it continued processing funds even amidst heightened military tensions between Iran, Israel, and the United States. Upon returning to the web following the public exposé, Shelbit released a statement categorically denying all allegations of money laundering or terrorist financing, claiming it had actually ceased operations earlier this year.
The American crackdown aligns with warnings from Dubai’s own Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, which recently flagged Shelbit for violating strict anti money laundering and counter terrorism laws. Local regulators warned that the exchange’s behavior went far beyond simple consumer protection failures, posing a genuine risk to the overall integrity of the United Arab Emirates’ financial system due to its involvement in egregious cross border transactions.