DUBAI, UAE: The unlicensed Shelbit crypto exchange processed at least $4 billion for an Iranian gambling network spanning more than 2,000 websites since May 2024.
Reuters investigation found. Blockchain data reviewed by Reuters linked Shelbit to the Farsi-language gambling network.
The exchange also interacted with Iran’s central bank, sanctioned Iranian exchange Nobitex and wallets that Israel linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Shelbit processed at least $125 million connected to Iran’s central bank.
It also received funds from what blockchain investigators described as an Iranian bitcoin-mining operation, according to Reuters. Investigators traced tens of millions of dollars from the gambling network through Shelbit.
At least $676 million subsequently moved from Shelbit-linked addresses to Binance. Binance told Reuters that Shelbit never held an institutional account on its platform.
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It said the transactions initially received no high-risk designation, but the company later investigated relevant accounts, froze them and reported them to law enforcement.
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority previously penalised Shelbit for operating without a licence.
The regulator’s enforcement notice ordered the company to stop providing unlicensed services and cited failures involving customer checks and unauthorised marketing.
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Iranian influencers Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari denied knowing about Shelbit or participating in sanctions evasion or money laundering.
Reuters reported that Shelbit founder Siavash Kayvanpour, the Iranian government and the IRGC did not respond.
Reuters could not establish whether the IRGC directly controlled Shelbit or the wider gambling network. It also could not determine the final destination of much of the money.
