On Friday, August 7, 2026, the United States imposed sanctions on Shelbit, an unlicensed multi-state cryptocurrency exchange based in Dubai, accusing it of facilitating millions of dollars in crypto transactions for Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other Iranian state-linked entities.

This action follows a Reuters investigation published on July 31, 2026, which identified Shelbit as the center of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion scheme. The investigation revealed that Shelbit moved cryptocurrency on behalf of Iran’s central bank, one of the world’s largest illegal online gambling networks, and to addresses connected by the Israeli government to the IRGC.

The U.S. Treasury also sanctioned Siavash Kayvanpour, the expatriate Iranian founder of Shelbit and a network of related companies, for providing material support to the IRGC and Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Nobitex was previously sanctioned by the U.S. on June 2, 2026, for enabling the Iranian government to circumvent Western sanctions.

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

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated, “Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat.”

Despite Shelbit’s website being down for months, preventing customer transactions, the exchange reportedly continued processing funds, even amid ongoing U.S. and Israeli actions against Iran.

Shelbit responded on August 1, 2026, via a statement on its reactivated website, categorically rejecting any claims that it knowingly engaged in money laundering, terrorist financing, illegal gambling, sanctions evasion, or activities on behalf of any sanctioned, military, or governmental organization.

The Dubai-based Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) commented on July 24, 2026, shortly after Reuters’ inquiry, that the exposure identified extends beyond consumer protection to serious cross-border transactions potentially impacting the integrity of the UAE financial system.

Sources