US Treasury sanctions Iranian exchange network for processing millions in crypto for IRGC

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control just added another layer of pressure to Iran’s illicit financial networks, this time going directly after a cluster of crypto exchanges allegedly processing millions in digital asset transactions for entities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The August 7 action targets Siavash Kayvanpour, the Shelbit Exchange, and affiliated companies including Shelbit General Trading LLC and Crypto Home DMCC. According to OFAC, these entities facilitated between $1 million and $2 million in digital asset transfers routed to IRGC-linked wallet addresses.

The network behind the designations

Shelbit wasn’t operating in isolation. OFAC’s designation also references Aban Tether, another entity sanctioned alongside the Shelbit network on the same day. Together, these platforms allegedly served as financial plumbing for sanctioned actors who had already been cut off from the traditional banking system.

The transactions in question were tied to previously sanctioned entities, including Nobitex, one of Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Nobitex has been on OFAC’s radar for years, and the Shelbit network apparently picked up where other channels left off, providing alternative on-ramps and off-ramps for sanctioned wallets.

Beyond the IRGC connection, Kayvanpour’s network allegedly laundered tens of millions of dollars originating from an online gambling operation, routing the funds through Shelbit’s infrastructure.

A broader pressure campaign

This action doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Since January 2026, OFAC has sanctioned over 100 vessels connected to Iran’s shadow fleet, the network of ships used to evade oil export restrictions. The crypto-focused designations represent a parallel track in what has become a comprehensive economic pressure campaign against Tehran’s revenue streams.

The Treasury also referenced a $15 million bounty for information on IRGC financial systems. That bounty program, run through the State Department’s Rewards for Justice initiative, is essentially crowdsourcing intelligence on exactly the kind of crypto-facilitated evasion that Shelbit allegedly enabled.

For context, the entities named in this action were incorporated across multiple jurisdictions, with Shelbit General Trading LLC and Crypto Home DMCC both carrying structures commonly associated with Dubai-based free trade zones. That detail matters because it highlights how sanctions evasion networks exploit regulatory gaps between jurisdictions, setting up shop in places where crypto businesses can operate with relatively light oversight.

What this means for the crypto industry

Every time OFAC designates a crypto exchange, two things happen. First, any US person or entity holding funds connected to the designated addresses must freeze them immediately. Second, every other exchange in the world gets a quiet reminder that touching those wallets, or wallets that have interacted with them, carries real legal risk.