Key facts
- OFAC sanctioned Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether for facilitating illicit cryptocurrency activity.
- Siavash Kayvanpour, an Iranian national, was sanctioned for operating the network from the UAE and Georgia.
- The sanctions aim to disrupt financial networks supporting Iran's IRGC.
- Over $5 million in digital assets were allegedly moved through these channels.
- The US Treasury stated it will continue to increase economic pressure on Iran's financial networks.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned two cryptocurrency exchanges, Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether, along with Iranian national Siavash Kayvanpour and associated digital assets. OFAC stated these entities facilitated illicit cryptocurrency activities and sanctions evasion to support Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
According to the Treasury, IRGC-controlled wallets transferred over $1 million in cryptocurrency to Shelbit, and Shelbit sent more than $2 million back to Iranian wallets. Kayvanpour, who holds Dominica and Afghanistan citizenship, allegedly ran the network from the UAE and Georgia through his firm SHPS Shelbit, operating Shelbit Exchange. Treasury also alleges Shelbit laundered tens of millions from an online gambling network. Despite previous enforcement actions by the UAE's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in January 2025 and July 2026, Shelbit continued operations. Kayvanpour also operated Poland-based Shelbit Technologies and UAE-based Crypto Home and NFT Home DMCC, which were also designated.
Aban Tether processed millions in transactions with previously sanctioned Iranian platforms including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. Both exchanges were designated under authorities targeting Iran's financial sector and its support for terrorism, adding them to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. This action freezes any U.S.-touching assets and risks secondary sanctions for foreign firms dealing with them.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, "The Iranian regime's reliance on digital assets and shadow banking networks is further evidence that Economic Fury is working. 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." These actions are part of a sustained push against Iran's reliance on crypto, following the freezing of $131 million in Iran-linked crypto in May and the seizure of roughly $1 billion in Iranian crypto since the campaign began.