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How a Dubai Crypto Exchange and Online Gambling Helped Move $4 Billion for Iran
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A network of more than 2,000 illegal gambling websites and a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange called Shelbit helped move at least $4 billion through an Iranian sanctions-evasion operation, Reuters reported on July 31.
Shelbit, an unlicensed exchange operated by expatriate Iranian Siavash Kayvanpour, is registered at an office above a budget hotel in Dubai and sits at the center of the money-moving network, the outlet reported.
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Blockchain data analyzed by two crypto investigative firms and an independent researcher, Rich Sanders, showed that at least $4 billion had passed through Shelbit since May 2024, according to Reuters.
The exchange interacted directly with Iran’s central bank, wallets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, which the United States sanctioned in June.
Reuters reported that Shelbit processed at least $125 million connected to Iran’s central bank and transferred at least $676 million to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, since May 2024.
The gambling network consists of more than 2,000 Farsi-language websites promoted by Iranian influencers Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari, who display supercars, private jets, yacht parties, and other signs of wealth to millions of social media followers.
An Iranian court convicted Sobhani, Mokhtari, and Kayvanpour in 2023 over their roles in an illegal gambling operation. Gambling is prohibited in Iran and can be punished with imprisonment and flogging.
Sobhani and Mokhtari denied involvement in money laundering or sanctions evasion and said they had no knowledge of Iranian state involvement in their activities. They also denied knowing Kayvanpour or having any connection to Shelbit.
Reuters reported that the IRGC had taken control of Iran’s largest online gambling sites years earlier and had since used the sector to move money abroad.
However, the outlet said it could not independently determine whether the IRGC directly controlled Shelbit and the wider gambling network. It also could not determine which figures within the Iranian state oversaw the operation or where much of the cryptocurrency ultimately went.
“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,” said Miad Maleki, a former associate director at the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority is investigating Shelbit’s alleged role in laundering money and helping Iran evade sanctions, according to Reuters.
The regulator previously took enforcement action against Shelbit in 2025 for operating without a license. On July 24, it issued a new notice ordering the company to immediately cease all unlicensed virtual-asset activity, citing violations related to money laundering and terrorism financing.
Earlier, on July 28, a bipartisan group of US senators reached an agreement on sanctions legislation targeting Russia and Iran. The bill would authorize President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500% on Russian imports and tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest importers of Russian oil and gas, as well as on countries that help Russia evade sanctions.
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