The US Treasury sanctions Dubai-based unlicensed crypto exchange Shelbit, alleging it processed millions in crypto for IRGC and other Iran-linked groups (Reuters)

The US Treasury has sanctioned a Dubai-based unlicensed crypto exchange, Shelbit, and its founder Siavash Kayvanpour, along with associated companies. The Treasury alleges that Shelbit processed millions of dollars in digital assets for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's central bank, and other entities linked to the Iranian state.

According to the US Treasury, Shelbit was part of a network that evaded sanctions through cryptocurrency. The Treasury also sanctioned Aban Tether, an Iran-based crypto exchange, accusing it of processing millions of dollars in transactions for sanctioned Iranian entities. Reuters reported that Shelbit was the hub of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion network.

The US Treasury accused Kayvanpour of providing material support to both the IRGC and Nobitex, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange that was previously sanctioned. The Treasury's action is part of a wider crackdown on sanctions evasion through cryptocurrency networks, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating that the department will "hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat."

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, Times of India, Business Insider, Decrypt, Cointelegraph — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.