OFAC sanctions Shelbit and Aban Tether under Economic Fury for Iran Revolutionary Guard laundering; operator ran network from UAE, Georgia. $1B seized.
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Siavash Kayvanpour ran Shelbit Exchange from Georgia and the UAE, processing over $1 million from Iranian armed forces-linked wallets and sending more than $2 million back, the Treasury said Friday. OFAC also designated Aban Tether, an Iran-based platform that processed millions in transactions with previously sanctioned Iranian exchanges including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex.
Both actions fall under the Treasury's “Economic Fury” campaign. “The Iranian regime's reliance on digital assets and shadow banking networks is further evidence that Economic Fury is working,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. A separate OFAC action simultaneously targeted Iran's traditional shadow-banking network.
Kayvanpour, Iran-born with Dominica and Afghanistan citizenship, operated through his Georgia-registered firm SHPS Shelbit. Treasury alleged Shelbit also laundered tens of millions from a Persian-language online gambling network. VARA, the UAE's virtual assets regulator, took enforcement action against Shelbit General Trading in January 2025 and again in July 2026. Shelbit continued operating, Treasury said. Kayvanpour also ran Poland-based Shelbit Technologies and UAE-based Crypto Home and NFT Home DMCC, all designated alongside Shelbit.
The designations place the entities on the Specially Designated Nationals List, the U.S. government's blocklist of people and firms cut off from the American financial system. Any U.S.-touching property is frozen. Foreign firms that continue dealing with the designated entities risk secondary sanctions.
The State Department's Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $15 million for information that disrupts the financial mechanisms of Iran's military. The crypto seizures are part of a sustained push. In May, the U.S. froze $131 million in Iran-linked crypto. Bessent said the campaign has seized roughly $1 billion in Iranian crypto since it began.
As of August 7, Shelbit Exchange, Aban Tether, and the named individuals are on the SDN List, their U.S.-touching assets blocked. The action is the latest in a series of Treasury moves targeting crypto as a channel for sanctioned regimes. For broader context, see our crypto market analysis.
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