Written by :
Published on :
OAKLAND PARK, Fla (Gambling911.com) - An illicit Iranian gambling network helped move at least $4 billion through an unlicensed Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange that also handled funds for sanctioned Iranian institutions, a Reuters investigation found.
Blockchain data reviewed by Reuters showed the exchange, Shelbit, processed money for a Farsi-language gambling network spanning more than 2,000 websites.
Shelbit is an unlicensed Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange identified in a July 2026 investigative report by Reuters as the central hub for a $4 billion Iranian sanctions-evasion network, linking illegal online gambling, bitcoin mining, and Iran's central bank.
It also interacted with Iran's central bank, the sanctioned Iranian exchange Nobitex and wallets that Israel has linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Reuters report indicated.
Reuters traced tens of millions of dollars from the gambling network through Shelbit and found that at least $676 million moved from Shelbit-linked addresses to Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, since May 2024.
Binance said Shelbit had never held an account on its platform and that transactions associated with it were not initially judged to be high risk. It said relevant accounts were investigated, frozen and reported to law enforcement.
Shelbit founder Siavash Kayvanpour, the Iranian government and the IRGC did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
