US Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchanges Over Alleged IRGC Transfers

The U.S. Treasury on Friday added two digital asset exchanges to its sanctions list, accusing them of processing millions of dollars for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Shelbit and Aban Tether were designated for allegedly moving funds between IRGC-linked wallets and the broader crypto market.

OFAC said IRGC-controlled wallets sent more than $1 million to Shelbit addresses. The platform sent back over $2 million to addresses tied to the military group. Shelbit also processed payments for a network of more than 2,000 gambling websites targeting Persian-speaking users, according to the Treasury.

The sanctions target Shelbit operator Siavash Kayvanpour and his companies in the UAE and Georgia, among other jurisdictions. OFAC said addresses linked to Kayvanpour sent over $2 million to Nobitex, Iran's largest crypto exchange, which was sanctioned in June 2025. Aban Tether, the other designated exchange, facilitated transactions involving other previously sanctioned Iranian platforms including Wallex and Bitpin.

The scale of Shelbit's operations is large. Reuters reported that the exchange processed at least $4 billion over the last two years. A large portion of those funds moved through major global exchanges. Transfers of about $676 million went from Shelbit-linked wallets to Binance, which said it investigated and froze accounts associated with Shelbit users.

International regulators had already taken steps. Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority fined Shelbit in January 2025 for operating without a license and later ordered it to stop. The Treasury's move blocks all property and interests of the sanctioned entities in the U.S. The State Department's Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $15 million for information that disrupts the IRGC's financial mechanisms. The Treasury said it will continue monitoring on-chain activity in the digital asset sector.