Reuters: Dubai Exchange Shellbit Served as Hub for Iran Sanctions Evasion

Dubai-based digital-asset exchange Shellbit is suspected of serving as a key financial conduit in a large Iranian sanctions-evasion network.

Reuters reported on July 31 that Shellbit has handled at least $4 billion in digital assets since May 2024, linking more than 2,000 illegal gambling sites, the Central Bank of Iran and other U.S.-sanctioned entities to the global digital-asset market.

Blockchain analytics firms found that Shellbit moved funds directly with wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Nobitex, an Iranian exchange sanctioned by the U.S. Some of the funds were traced to Iran's Bitcoin mining operations.

Reuters also reported that Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or VARA, is investigating allegations that Shellbit was involved in money laundering and sanctions evasion related to Iran. After identifying the exchange's unlicensed operations last year, VARA on July 24 ordered it to immediately halt all business for violating anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules.

John Wojcik, a senior analyst at TRM Labs, called Shellbit the largest Iranian illicit gambling network identified so far and one of the biggest Iranian sanctions-evasion networks uncovered since 2016.