Dubai: Iran continues to use the crypto markets to skirt sanctions, an investigation by Reuters has revealed. According to its report, a Farsi-language online gambling network of more than 2,000 websites helped move atleast $4 billion through an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange in Dubai named Shelbit. Blockchain data reviewed showed that the exchange served as a financial front connecting illicit gambling revenues with sanctioned Iranian institutions, including the Central Bank of Iran and crypto wallets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Key Findings of the Investigation
For Iran, the decentralised crypto infrastructure and offshore exchanges have been ideal to circumvent international trade sanctions that has crippled the country for years much before its conflict with the US and Israel. The operation included tacit support from leading Iranian institutions where the Central Bank of Iran received funds from Iranian bitcoin mining operations and IRGC-affiliated crypto wallets, with Shelbit processing over $125 million linked directly to these institutions. Almost $676 million worth of cryptocurrencies were moved from Shelbit controlled wallets to Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, since May 2024.
Regulatory Action in Dubai
Before Reuters revealed details, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) ordered Shelbit to immediately cease all unlicensed virtual asset operations, given its severe compliance violations
Binance has not disputed that it processed hundreds of millions worth of crypto on behalf of Shelbit but has said that the transactions were not ‘deemed high risk by any independent third party blockchain analytics firm’. The company has said that its compliance program ‘investigated, froze and reported relevant accounts and reported them to law enforcement.’
This is not the first time Iranian government linked crypto exchanges have been investigated. In January 2026, investigations revealed how the IRCG had moved almost $1 billion to the international markets using shady cryptocurrency exchanges.
