[REVISION HISTORY]

Dubai crypto exchange Shelbit sanctions case

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-07 21:15 UTC → 2026-08-08 00:02 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In late July 2026 investigators uncovered that the unlicensed Dubai‑based exchange Shelbit had processed at least $4 billion in cryptocurrency for an extensive Iranian online‑gambling network and for entities tied to Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The platform’s activity prompted the UAE’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to fine Shelbit and order its shutdown, while Binance froze accounts linked to the flow and reported the matter to law‑enforcement. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) began reviewing the case. A week later OFAC formally sanctioned Shelbit and its founder Siavash Kayvanpour, accusing them of moving millions of dollars for the IRGC and other state‑linked groups. The designation followed a Reuters investigation that highlighted Shelbit’s role in the $4 billion sanctions‑evasion scheme and came after earlier U.S. sanctions on Iran’s largest crypto exchange, Nobitex. Shelbit’s website briefly resurfaced after the sanctions but the company denied any wrongdoing. On August 7, 2026 OFAC expanded the sanctions to include another digital‑asset exchange, Aban Tether, and added ~~Iranian national Siavash~~ Kayvanpour’s companies in Georgia, Poland and the United Arab Emirates. ~~The~~ Treasury officials noted that IRGC‑linked wallets sent more than $1 million to Shelbit ~~addresses and that~~ addresses, Shelbit‑linked wallets transferred over $2 million to IRGC‑controlled ~~wallets.~~ wallets, and wallets tied to Kayvanpour moved about $2 million to Nobitex. The Treasury ~~Secretary Scott Bessent~~ emphasized that the network laundered billions through online gambling operations and shell‑company structures, and pledged to “hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat.”

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