One of the world’s largest illegal gambling networks has funneled millions of dollars in crypto through a Dubai office as part of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions evasion operation, a Reuters investigation found.

At the center sits Shelbit, an unlicensed crypto exchange run by expatriate Iranian Siavash Kayvanpour, operating from an office above a budget hotel in Dubai’s Deira neighbourhood.

The gambling network

Shelbit’s main customers include a Farsi-language gambling network of more than 2,000 websites, fronted by two flashy Iranian influencers, Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari.

Both men and Kayvanpour were convicted as partners in an illegal gambling case in Iran in 2023.

John Wojcik, a former…