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 Infoblox researcher, described the scale of the operation:
“This is by far the biggest Iranian illegal gambling network ever discovered and one of the biggest in the world.”
The exchange has processed at least $130 million for just one gambling site since May 2024.
Central bank and mining links
Shelbit processed at least $125 million directly from Iran’s central bank, along with wallets Israel links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The exchange also received at least $20 million from a suspected Iranian bitcoin mining operation via intermediary wallets.
Iran legalized crypto mining in 2019, and it has since become a cornerstone of the country’s evasion of Western sanctions.
Binance flows and enforcement
At least $676 million in crypto flowed from Shelbit addresses to Binance since May 2024.
Binance said Shelbit never held an account there and that the flows were not deemed high risk by an independent analytics firm.
Dubai’s regulator VARA ordered Shelbit to cease all unlicensed activities on July 24.
