Treasury Sanctions Crypto Exchanges It Says Laundered Millions for Iran
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned two crypto exchanges, Shelbit Exchange and Iran-based Aban Tether, for allegedly laundering millions of dollars for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and other Iranian entities. Treasury said Siavash Kayvanpour, an Iran-born operator with Dominica and Afghanistan citizenship, ran Shelbit through firms in Georgia, the UAE, Poland, and elsewhere. Iranian military-linked wallets allegedly sent more than $1 million to Shelbit, which sent over $2 million back to Iranian wallets and another $2 million to sanctioned exchange Nobitex. Shelbit was also accused of laundering tens of millions tied to online gambling. Aban Tether allegedly processed millions with previously sanctioned Iranian exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. The designations place the entities and named individuals on the SDN List, freezing U.S.-touching assets and exposing foreign counterparties to secondary sanctions.
