$4 Billion, No Website: How Dubai's Shelbit Became a Gateway for Iran Sanctions Evasion

A Reuters investigation, conducted with blockchain analysts and researcher Rich Sanders, has linked the unlicensed Dubai-based exchange Shelbit to at least $4 billion in Iran sanctions evasion. Money flowed from a network of more than 2,000 Farsi-language gambling sites through Shelbit, then out to major crypto exchanges worldwide, including Binance.

More than a year and $4 billion in volume later, the company that moved that money doesn't even have a website.

Shelbit has operated since May 2024, run by Iranian expatriate Siavash Kayvanpour, who was convicted by an Iranian court back in 2023 for his role in the country's illegal gambling industry. The network of 2,000+ sites behind him is fronted by two influencers, Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari, both convicted in the same case.

Investigators say at least $676 million moved from Shelbit-linked addresses to Binance, the world's largest exchange, since May 2024. Binance said Shelbit never held an account on its platform and that the associated transactions weren't initially flagged as high risk. Separately, the investigation traced at least $125 million tied to Iran's central bank, as well as funds from an Iranian bitcoin-mining operation. Part of the flow was also linked to sanctioned Iranian exchange Nobitex and to wallets Israel has previously attributed to the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps).

On July 24, 2026, Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued a cease-and-desist order and fines against Shelbit General Trading L.L.C. for operating without a license and failing KYC checks. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is reportedly reviewing the case and weighing sanctions against Iranian regime-linked digital assets. A similar pattern surfaced before: TRM Labs analysts previously put Iranian crypto flows through the exchange CoinEx at $3.84 billion — making Shelbit the second major recent example of Iran's sanctioned financial infrastructure using outwardly legitimate crypto platforms as a pass-through. More detail on the investigation is also available via CryptoBriefing.

Nothing here should be taken as financial advice — just information to consider.