Iran’s $4 Billion Sanctions Evasion Network: How Gambling Sites and Crypto Were Used

A Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange has processed at least $4 billion since May 2024 as part of an Iranian sanctions-evasion network that channels money from a large illegal online gambling operation into global crypto markets. The exchange, called Shelbit, sits at the centre of flows that link Iranian gambling sites, the country’s central bank, suspected mining operations, and wallets the Israeli government has linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Reuters reported that Shelbit operates from an office above a budget hotel in Dubai’s Deira neighborhood. The unlicensed platform, run by expatriate Iranian Siavash Kayvanpour, has no public website and no clear way for ordinary users to access it. Yet blockchain records reviewed by crypto investigative firms and an independent analyst show it has moved hundreds of millions of dollars to major exchanges, including Binance.

This network matters because it demonstrates how Iranian entities continue to access international financial systems despite years of sanctions. Gambling is illegal in Iran and punishable by prison and lashing, yet the operation has access to the country’s tightly controlled online payments system overseen by the central bank. The scale is significant: one researcher described it as the biggest Iranian illegal gambling network ever identified.

What is Shelbit and how does the money move?

Shelbit functions as a hub rather than a consumer-facing exchange. Data analysed shows it has processed at least $4 billion in crypto since it appears to have begun operations in May 2024. Tens of millions of that total can be traced directly from the gambling network’s wallets.

The exchange has processed at least $125 million from Iran’s central bank, much of it directly. It has also received funds linked to an Iranian bitcoin mining operation and from wallets that the Israeli government has associated with the IRGC. From Shelbit, at least $676 million has flowed to Binance. About $540 million of that moved after Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority fined Shelbit in 2025 for operating without a license.

Independent blockchain researcher Rich Sanders told Reuters: “It’s an IRGC operation, and that’s plain as day.” Reuters reported that the crypto flows continued even after the Islamic Republic repeatedly bombed the United Arab Emirates, including a drone that struck less than a kilometre from Shelbit’s office.

Binance stated that Shelbit never held an account on its platform and was never sanctioned. The company said that when users linked to Shelbit interacted with its systems, its compliance program investigated, froze accounts, and reported them to law enforcement. Binance also said the flows were not deemed high risk by an independent analytics firm.

Who fronts the gambling network?

The gambling operation consists of more than 2,000 Farsi-language websites offering slots, blackjack, roulette, and similar games. It is promoted by two Iranian influencers: Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari.

Sobhani, whose given name is Mohammad Javad, is the son of a former senior Iranian diplomat and minister. He has 3.7 million Instagram followers and lives in a multimillion-dollar villa in Madrid. He promotes gambling sites with the phrase “Click and have fun” and posts images of luxury cars, yachts, and large amounts of cash.

Mokhtari is a singer and influencer who previously lived in Dubai under the assumed identity of Patrick Philippe, a Vanuatu citizen holding a 10-year golden visa. He was arrested by Dubai police in late March on accusations of financing Iranian groups involved in hostile acts against the UAE. He was held for 35 days, expelled, and forced to forfeit assets including a $5 million house and bank accounts. He later stayed in a luxury Hong Kong hotel before traveling toward Iran in early July.

Both men were convicted in Iran in 2023, in absentia, for their roles in illegal gambling sites including abt90 and Hazarat. Kayvanpour, the Shelbit founder, received a three-month sentence for assisting them. Iran had issued Interpol red notices for Sobhani and Mokhtari; both were briefly detained in Spain before the notices were withdrawn.

Sobhani and Mokhtari denied any connection between the sites they promote and each other, any knowledge of Kayvanpour or Shelbit, and any involvement with Iranian state entities. Sobhani stated: “I categorically deny any involvement in money laundering, sanctions evasion, terrorism financing or moving funds on behalf of the Iranian government, the Central Bank of Iran, the IRGC or any other Iranian state institution.” He said his role with abt90 was limited to paid social media advertising and that he was never an owner, shareholder, or operator.

Mokhtari told Reuters he was not part of the IRGC or any Iranian military groups. He said: “I’m not part of them, but I wish, I hope one day that I become like them – not to attack anyone, (but) to defend people.” He also claimed online gambling was not illegal in Iran, despite Article 705 of the Penal Code and a 2023 amendment covering online betting.

Cybersecurity firm Infoblox found that although the domains were registered at different times under different names, they share software and technical characteristics that link them into a single network.

How does Iran’s system enable the operation?

Several former Iranian officials and people with knowledge of the security services told Reuters that the IRGC moved to control online gambling after it expanded about a decade ago. The takeover required cooperation from the central bank, which oversees domestic electronic payments.

Reza Gheibi, a former government official, said the IRGC co-opted influencers to market the sites. Hamid Nikou, a former policy strategist who advised the Guards, said: “When financial enterprises grow large and operate independently of the ruling establishment and security institutions, the IRGC moves to oversee them.” He added that the sites were used “as a way to connect financial systems inside and outside the country.”

Miad Maleki, who previously worked on Iran sanctions policy at the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, observed: “When it comes to gambling, the IRGC learned the Islamic Republic’s most lucrative lesson early: declare something illegal, then control both the prohibition and the black market.”

John Wojcik, a former Infoblox researcher who investigated illegal gambling for the United Nations, described the network as “by far the biggest Iranian illegal gambling network ever discovered and one of the biggest in the world.”

Reuters could not determine whether the IRGC exercises direct control over Shelbit or the gambling sites, or where the bulk of the crypto ultimately ends up.

What have regulators and authorities done?

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism took enforcement action against Shelbit in 2025 for operating without a license. On July 24, after Reuters sought comment, VARA issued a public notice ordering Shelbit to “cease and desist immediately from all unlicensed Virtual Asset activities.” The notice stated that the exposure “extends beyond consumer protection to more egregious cross-border transactions with the propension to impact the integrity of the UAE financial system.”

A person with knowledge of the matter said VARA is investigating Shelbit’s alleged role in helping Iran launder money and evade sanctions, along with Kayvanpour and others linked to crypto-based illegal gambling.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country “adheres to the highest international standards, maintains strict oversight across all sectors, and works closely with international partners, to disrupt and deter all forms of illicit financial flows.”

A U.S. Treasury spokesperson said the department “is aware of these allegations and is taking them very seriously” and noted that Treasury has targeted Iranian-regime-linked digital assets since the start of the current administration.

Mokhtari has not posted publicly since early July. Neither Kayvanpour nor Iranian officials responded to requests for comment. Dubai police and the public prosecutor’s office also did not reply.

(With inputs from Reuters)