US Treasury targets crypto exchanges in new Iran sanctions

Middle East Eye·August 7, 2026Sanctions

US Treasury targets crypto exchanges in new Iran sanctions The United States on Friday 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 31 July 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.

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