The sanctions target Shelbit Exchange, based in the United Arab Emirates, which authorities say has been laundering money by running it through a large gambling website on behalf of the Iranian government. The United States is also sanctioning Aban Tether, an Iran-based crypto exchange, for processing Iranian assets through Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex.
Treasury officials said Iran uses a sprawling network of corporate entities to obscure the origin of the funds and launder money to benefit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“The Iranian regime’s reliance on digital assets and shadow banking networks is further evidence that Economic Fury is working,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, referencing the government’s operations to target Iran’s funding network. In a separate statement, Bessent said, “We will continue to increase the economic pressure. Whether in dollars, rials, or crypto, Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat.”
The executive who runs the operations, Iran-born expatriate Siavash Kayvanpour, has also been sanctioned. Kayvanpour’s network of crypto exchanges allegedly includes operations in the Republic of Georgia and Poland, as well as other outfits in the UAE.
On Friday, the Senate also passed a bill sanctioning Iran, targeting its energy and weapons manufacturing industries.