US Sanctions Dubai-Based Crypto Exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether for Processing Billions for Iran's IRGC

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Dubai-based Shelbit Exchange and Iran-based Aban Tether on August 7, 2026, for processing millions in cryptocurrency for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other sanctioned entities. The action, part of the Trump administration's 'Economic Fury' campaign, follows a Reuters investigation exposing a $4 billion sanctions evasion scheme. Shelbit's founder, Siavash Kayvanpour, was also designated alongside his international network of companies.

Shelbit Exchange sanctions

• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Dubai-based Shelbit Exchange on August 7, 2026, for facilitating transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
• ▪Shelbit LLC categorically rejected suggestions that it knowingly participated in money laundering, terrorist financing, or sanctions evasion, stating on August 1, 2026, that it ceased operations in January 2026.
• ▪Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority issued an enforcement notice on July 24, 2026, stating that Shelbit Exchange violated money-laundering and terrorism-financing laws and ordered it to halt unlicensed operations.

Aban Tether sanctions

• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Iran-based cryptocurrency exchange Aban Tether on August 7, 2026, for processing millions of dollars in transactions involving previously sanctioned Iranian exchanges.
• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department stated that Aban Tether processed transactions involving sanctioned Iranian platforms including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex.

IRGC crypto transaction flows

• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department stated that Shelbit Exchange serviced an illegal gambling network of over 2,000 websites run by two Iranian influencers, laundering tens of millions of dollars.
• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department stated that wallets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent over $1 million in cryptocurrency to Shelbit Exchange and received over $2 million from the exchange.

Economic Fury campaign expansion

• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department previously sanctioned Iranian crypto exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion in January 2026, Nobitex in June 2026, and four central bank wallets in July 2026.
• ▪The August 7, 2026, sanctions are part of the U.S. Treasury Department's 'Economic Fury' campaign, aimed at dismantling digital asset and shadow banking networks supporting the Iranian regime.

Siavash Kayvanpour network designation

• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department alleged that cryptocurrency wallets controlled by Siavash Kayvanpour transferred more than $2 million to Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
• ▪The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Siavash Kayvanpour, the expatriate Iranian founder of Shelbit Exchange, on August 7, 2026, alongside several of his companies in Georgia, Poland, and the UAE.

Reuters investigation findings

• ▪The Reuters investigation found that at least $676 million moved from Shelbit-linked wallets to Binance over two years, including $540 million after Dubai's regulatory authority fined Shelbit in January 2025.
• ▪A Reuters investigation published on July 31, 2026, identified Shelbit Exchange as the hub of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion scheme involving Iran's central bank and the IRGC.
• ▪Binance disputed the $540 million figure and stated that Shelbit Exchange did not hold an account on its platform, adding that associated user accounts had been frozen and reported.