The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on crypto exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether on August 7, saying both helped move funds linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The action extends a broader US pressure campaign that has repeatedly targeted Iran-linked crypto infrastructure since the start of 2026.
Treasury said blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs traced more than $6.3 billion in flows through Shelbit, a Dubai-registered exchange, between May 2024 and March 2026. TRM described that figure as total flow through the platform as a settlement layer for Iran’s illicit economy, not as evidence of a single transaction.
Treasury’s allegations against Shelbit
According to Treasury, wallets linked to the IRGC sent more than $1 million in cryptocurrency to Shelbit and later received more than $2 million back. The department also said Shelbit operator Siavash Kayvanpour transferred more than $2 million to Nobitex, the largest exchange in Iran.
Kayvanpour was designated personally, along with companies Treasury said he controls in Georgia, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates. Treasury also alleged that Shelbit serviced a network of more than 2,000 gambling websites tied to two Iranian influencers who had already been convicted of illegal gambling, with tens of millions of dollars allegedly laundered through the exchange.
Why Aban Tether was added
Aban Tether, which Treasury described as based inside Iran, was sanctioned for processing transactions with already designated Iranian crypto platforms. Treasury specifically named Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex among the exchanges connected to the case.
The move shows that US authorities are not only targeting large exchanges accused of directly facilitating Iran-linked flows, but also platforms alleged to have maintained transactional ties with services that had already been blacklisted.
Part of a wider 2026 sanctions drive
This is the fourth separate round of crypto-focused Iran sanctions that Blockhead tracked in 2026. Treasury first sanctioned Zedcex and Zedxion in January, then blacklisted Nobitex and several other exchanges in June, and in July moved against four wallets tied to Iran’s central bank.
That July action led Tether to freeze about $131 million held in those wallets in coordination with US authorities. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the latest designations show that the administration’s “Economic Fury” campaign is having an effect and said the department would continue targeting illicit financial networks regardless of the currency used.
Cross-border compliance risks remain in focus
The State Department is separately offering up to $15 million for information that helps disrupt the financial machinery behind Iran’s military. The latest designations also underscore how US authorities view crypto as a channel that can move value faster than traditional correspondent banking oversight can track, especially when shell companies operate across multiple jurisdictions.
The case drew at least one public response from the industry. Binance told The Block that Shelbit never held an account on its platform and disputed a $540 million figure associated with the matter, adding that any Shelbit-linked accounts had already been investigated, frozen, and reported. For now, the next confirmed step is continued enforcement: Treasury has been adding new Iran-linked crypto targets every month or two, suggesting further designations remain possible if investigators identify additional connected entities or wallets.
Source: www.blockhead.co