A Reuters investigation published on July 31, 2026 has exposed Shelbit, an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange operating out of Dubai, as the central node in what investigators are calling one
A Reuters investigation published on July 31, 2026 has exposed Shelbit, an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange operating out of Dubai, as the central node in what investigators are calling one of the largest Iranian sanctions-evasion networks uncovered in a decade.
Shelbit processed at least $4 billion for an Iranian gambling network and sanctioned institutions. The exchange does not even have a public website.It is operated by Iranian expatriate Siavash Kayvanpour, who was convicted in an Iranian court in 2023 for his involvement in the country's illegal gambling industry.Reuters said Shelbit operated without a license from an office in Dubai's Deira district.
Blockchain records reviewed by Reuters, together with two crypto investigative firms and independent blockchain investigator Rich Sanders, showed the exchange handled billions of dollars in digital assets over the past year.The blockchain analysis found that cryptocurrency reached Shelbit from wallets connected to Iran's central bank, Nobitex, and wallets that the Israeli government has linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Some of the funds were also traced to Iranian Bitcoin mining operations. Iran legalized licensed Bitcoin mining in 2019, and Reuters reported that investigators believe some of the newly mined cryptocurrency later entered international markets through Shelbit.
Shelbit processed at least $125 million connected to Iran's central bank and received funds from what blockchain investigators described as an Iranian Bitcoin mining operation.Reuters identified a network of more than 2,000 websites promoted by Iranian social media personalities Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari. The two men were convicted in Iran in 2023 in an illegal gambling case alongside Shelbit founder Siavash Kayvanpour.
Reuters traced at least $676 million moving from Shelbit-linked addresses to Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, since May 2024.About $540 million arrived after Dubai's crypto regulator fined Shelbit in 2025 for operating without a license.Binance said Shelbit had never held an account on its platform and that transactions linked to Shelbit were not considered high risk. The exchange said it investigated users associated with Shelbit, froze relevant accounts, and reported them to law enforcement.
Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued a cease-and-desist order and monetary fines against Shelbit General Trading L.L.C. on July 24, 2026, for operating without a license and failing to comply with Know Your Customer regulations.The US Treasury Department confirmed its awareness of the allegations. The Office of Foreign Assets Control is reviewing the situation and has signaled it is taking measures to target Iranian regime-linked digital assets.
"This is by far the biggest Iranian illegal gambling network ever discovered and one of the biggest in the world," said John Wojcik, a former researcher at Infoblox and now senior analyst at TRM Labs, who spent seven years investigating illegal gambling for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.It is also one of the largest Iranian sanctions-evasion networks discovered since 2016, when the US broke up a roughly $20 billion IRGC gold-for-oil operation based in Turkey.
Sources:CoinDesk: Iran-linked crypto network moved $4B through Dubai exchangeCrypto Briefing: Shelbit linked to $4B illicit Iranian gambling network, report findsCrypto Times: $4B Iran crypto operation exposed through Dubai exchange
