By Gavin Finch and Feras Dalatey
THE United States has sanctioned an unlicensed multi-state cryptocurrency exchange, alleging it processed millions of dollars of crypto for Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other groups linked to the Iranian state.
The designation follows a Reuters investigation published on July 31 that identified the Dubai-based exchange, Shelbit, as the hub of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion scheme. The investigation found that Shelbit moved crypto on behalf of Iran’s central bank, one of the world’s largest illegal online gambling networks, and to addresses linked by the Israeli government to the IRGC.
