The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced sanctions against two digital asset exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether for their alleged role in facilitating illicit cryptocurrency activities and sanctions evasion. These measures are part of a broader effort to increase economic pressure on Iran amid ongoing military tensions between the two countries.
The sanctions target the exchanges for their involvement in transferring funds to support Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Treasury Department also sanctioned Iranian national Siavash Kayvanpour and several crypto wallets and companies linked to him, including Shelbit. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized the commitment to dismantling illicit financial networks that sustain the Iranian regime, stating, “Whether in dollars, rials, or crypto, Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat.”
Shelbit’s Role in Sanctions Evasion
According to the US Treasury, IRGC-controlled wallets sent more than $1 million in crypto to addresses tied to Shelbit. Additionally, wallets linked to Kayvanpour transferred $2 million in digital assets to Nobitex an Iranian exchange that was added to the US’ list of sanctioned entities in June. Shelbit is alleged to have facilitated the transfer of $2 million in crypto to IRGC-controlled wallets.
The sanctions against Shelbit and Aban Tether are the latest in a series of actions by the US government to target Iran’s financial activities. In January, the Treasury designated digital asset exchanges Zedcex and Zedxio as sanctioned entities. In June, the agency froze $131 million in wallets linked to Iran.
Shelbit’s Operations in Dubai
A Dubai-based cryptocurrency platform with ties to Iranian interests, Shelbit has been reported to have transferred substantial digital assets to Binance raising questions about potential efforts to circumvent international financial restrictions. Operated by Iranian expatriate Siavash Kayvanpour from an office in Dubai’s Deira district, Shelbit processed at least $4 billion in cryptocurrency since.
Blockchain analysis indicated that wallets connected to Shelbit sent approximately $676 million to Binance. A significant portion of those transfers—around $540 million—occurred after Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) had already fined the platform in early 2026 for operating without authorization.
Shelbit reportedly functioned as a central node linking a large network of Farsi-language online gambling sites—numbering more than 2,000 platforms—with Iran’s central bank and other entities subject to sanctions. Investigators traced at least $125 million flowing from the Central Bank of Iran to Shelbit addresses, along with roughly $20 million linked to what appeared to be Iranian bitcoin mining activity.
Binance’s Response
Binance responded that Shelbit itself never maintained a formal account on its platform. The exchange stated that associated user accounts were reviewed, frozen where appropriate, and reported to relevant authorities. It further noted that an independent analytics firm had not flagged the related transactions as high-risk at the time.
Dubai regulators later issued a cease-and-desist order citing unlicensed activity and concerns related to anti-money-laundering and potential terrorism-financing rules. This case highlights the ongoing challenges in monitoring cryptocurrency flows that can obscure the origins and destinations of funds.
The Scale of the Operation
The scale of the reported activity—billions processed through a relatively obscure Dubai entity—underscores the persistent difficulties of enforcing sanctions in a decentralized financial landscape. As authorities review the findings, the episode serves as a reminder of the dual nature of cryptocurrency: transparent on-chain records that enable forensic tracing, paired with the practical hurdles of identifying beneficial owners and enforcing rules across borders in real time.
