Dubai based crypto exchange 'Shelbit' funnels billions in Iranian sanctions evasion: Reuters
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- Network allegedly tied to gambling and the IRGC.
- Crypto reportedly flowed to major global exchanges.
- Dubai ordered Shelbit to cease operations.
An unlicensed Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange called Shelbit served as the central hub for an illicit $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion network, linking an offshore illegal gambling operation, Iranian bitcoin mining, and the Central Bank of Iran to global crypto markets, a Reuters investigation revealed.
Operating out of a modest three-room office above a budget hotel in Dubai's Deira neighborhood -registered alongside a watch trading business- Shelbit processed billions in digital assets despite having no functional public website.
Influencer-fronted gambling network linked to IRGC
According to blockchain data reviewed by Reuters and analyzed by cybersecurity firm Infoblox and independent investigator Rich Sanders, Shelbit’s primary volume was generated by a Farsi-language online gambling network of over 2,000 websites offering slots, blackjack, and roulette.
The network was fronted by two prominent Iranian social media influencers: Sasha Sobhani, the son of a former Iranian diplomat living in a luxury villa in Madrid, and Pooyan Mokhtari, a singer and influencer who was recently expelled from Dubai before returning to Tehran in July.
Both men were convicted in absentia by an Iranian court in 2023 alongside Shelbit founder Siavash Kayvanpour in an illegal gambling case.
Former Iranian security insiders and government officials told Reuters that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) systematically co-opted online gambling over a decade ago, leveraging the Central Bank of Iran’s payment processing system to bypass international banking restrictions.
"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 UN crime researcher now serving as a senior analyst at TRM Labs, in statements cited by Reuters.
“When it comes to gambling, the IRGC learned the Islamic Republic’s most lucrative lesson early: declare something illegal, then control both the prohibition and the black market,” added Miad Maleki, former associate director of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Hundreds of millions routed to Binance
Blockchain records reviewed by Reuters showed that Shelbit transferred at least $676 million in cryptocurrency to Binance since May 2024.
Roughly $540 million of those transfers occurred after Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) fined Shelbit for operating without a license.
Responding to Reuters, Binance stated that Shelbit never held a direct account and that transfers were not flagged as high-risk by third-party analytics, adding that it froze relevant accounts and reported them to authorities when compliance flags were triggered.
On July 24, 2025, following inquiries from Reuters, VARA issued an immediate cease-and-desist order against Shelbit, citing severe violations of money laundering and terrorism financing laws that threatened the integrity of the UAE financial system.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the US Treasury Department confirmed to Reuters that OFAC is taking the allegations "very seriously" as part of ongoing efforts to target Iranian digital asset networks.
Both Sobhani and Mokhtari denied any involvement in money laundering, sanctions evasion, or state-backed financial operations in their statements to Reuters, while Kayvanpour, the Iranian government, and local Dubai law enforcement did not respond to requests for comment.
