The US Treasury delivers a new blow to Iranian crypto infrastructure: sanctions against Shelbit and Aban Tether
The U.S. Treasury once again demonstrates toughness toward Iran's cryptocurrency sector. Last Friday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on two Iranian crypto exchanges — Shelbit and Aban Tether — as well as on network operator Siavash Keivanpour. Washington links their activities to cryptocurrency transfers in favor of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Transfer scheme through the Shelbit network
According to my analysis, the scale of the identified operations is impressive. Cryptocurrency addresses controlled by the IRGC transferred more than $1 million to the Shelbit exchange, while over $2 million returned to the Guard Corps wallets. This points to a well-established money laundering scheme using shell companies that Keivanpour registered in Poland and the UAE, managing the processes from Georgia.
His wallets also sent more than $2 million to Nobitex — Iran's largest crypto exchange, which had already been blocked by OFAC back in June. Notably, Shelbit, according to available data, laundered tens of millions of dollars for a gambling network, and earlier information emerged about transfers to Binance totaling $676 million.
Aban Tether and the escalation of sanctions pressure
The Aban Tether exchange, in turn, processed payments worth millions of dollars through previously blocked services such as Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. The Treasury emphasizes that the actions are based on Executive Order No. 13902, targeting Iran's financial sector. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated: "Whether with dollars, rials, or cryptocurrency — we will cut off any shadow financial networks."
This step is part of the "maximum pressure" strategy against Tehran under directive NSPM-2. Previously, stablecoin issuers promptly froze Iranian wallets after they were added to sanctions lists, setting a precedent for further actions.
My comment: The sanctions against Shelbit and Aban Tether are a signal to the entire crypto market: no jurisdictional "wrapper" will save you from responsibility for servicing sanctioned entities. For the industry, this is a reminder that decentralization does not mean the absence of legal consequences, and compliance procedures are becoming not a luxury but a necessity for survival.