The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned two crypto exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether, for facilitating transactions for Iran's military.
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Two Crypto Exchanges
The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether for purportedly facilitating financial transactions for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). These actions are part of a broader strategy aimed at disrupting Iran's military financing through digital currencies.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) claims that wallets tied to Iranian military operations transferred over $1 million in cryptocurrency to Shelbit, which then returned more than $2 million back to Iran, including funds sent to Nobitex, another sanctioned Iranian exchange.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Iranian regime's increasing reliance on cryptocurrency underscores the effectiveness of the U.S. initiative known as "Economic Fury." He emphasized, "We will continue to increase the economic pressure. Whether in dollars, rials, or crypto, Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks."
The key operator behind Shelbit, Siavash Kayvanpour, directed operations from the UAE and Georgia. He has been linked to multiple enterprises, including Shelbit Technologies in Poland and other businesses in the UAE, which have also faced sanctions for similar activities.
Aban Tether has been involved in significant financial activities with other already sanctioned Iranian exchanges, such as Nobitex and Bitpin. Both exchanges have now been added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List, restricting them from accessing the U.S. financial system and freezing any related assets.
In addition to the sanctions, the U.S. State Department is offering rewards of up to $15 million for information that could undermine the financial operations of the IRGC. This follows a series of measures, including the freezing of $131 million in Iranian-related cryptocurrency earlier this year, with approximately $1 billion seized since the initiative's inception.
