A sprawling network of more than 2,000 illegal Farsi-language gambling websites and an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange based in Dubai have formed the core of a sanctions-evasion operation that moved at least $4 billion since May 2024. Blockchain records examined by specialist firms and an independent researcher show the exchange, known as Shelbit, served as a central conduit connecting Iranian gambling platforms, the country’s central bank and wallets associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to global digital-asset markets.

Shelbit operates from an office above a budget hotel in Dubai’s Deira district. It is run by Siavash Kayvanpour, an Iranian expatriate. The platform has no public website and no apparent way for ordinary users to access it, yet data indicate it has handled vast volumes of cryptocurrency, including tens of millions of dollars traced directly from the gambling network and hundreds of millions routed toward major international platforms.

How the Money Moved

Investigators found that Shelbit processed at least $4 billion in total flows after it began operations in May 2024. Among those transfers, the exchange handled at least $125 million linked to Iran’s central bank, much of it in direct interactions. Additional funds arrived from what analysts identified as an Iranian bitcoin-mining operation and from wallets that the Israeli government has associated with the Revolutionary Guards. From Shelbit, at least $676 million reached Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. A substantial portion of those transfers occurred after Dubai regulators first acted against the firm in 2025 for operating without a license.

The gambling network itself ranks among the largest ever identified. Cybersecurity specialists mapped more than 2,000 domains that share software and technical features even though they were registered under different names and brands. The sites offer slots, blackjack, roulette and similar games and maintain access to Iran’s tightly controlled domestic electronic-payments system, which is overseen by the central bank.

Flows through Shelbit continued during the period of heightened military conflict that began in late February, including after Iranian strikes on the United Arab Emirates. One drone strike landed less than a kilometre from the exchange’s registered address.

Front Men and Official Ties

Two Iranian influencers have publicly promoted the gambling sites. Sasha Sobhani, whose formal name is Mohammad Javad, is the son of a former senior diplomat and government minister. He maintains a large social-media following and resides in a multimillion-dollar villa in Madrid, where he posts images of luxury cars, yachts and cash while encouraging followers to “click and have fun.” Pooyan Mokhtari, a singer and social-media personality, previously lived in Dubai under an assumed identity. Authorities there arrested him in late March on accusations of financing Iranian groups involved in hostile acts against the UAE. After 35 days in custody he was expelled, forfeited assets including a multimillion-dollar property, and later stayed in a luxury Hong Kong hotel before traveling toward Iran in early July.

An Iranian court convicted both men, along with Kayvanpour, in 2023 in connection with illegal gambling operations. Gambling is prohibited under Iranian law and can carry penalties of imprisonment and lashing. Sobhani and Mokhtari have denied any knowledge of each other’s sites, of Kayvanpour or of Shelbit. They also rejected any involvement with Iranian state institutions, money laundering or sanctions evasion.

Mokhtari stated that he is not part of the Revolutionary Guards or any Iranian military organisation, while adding that he hoped one day to resemble them in the sense of defending people rather than attacking others.

Revolutionary Guards’ Role in the Sector

Former Iranian officials and people familiar with security services told investigators that the Revolutionary Guards moved to take control of the largest online gambling platforms accessible inside Iran roughly a decade ago, once the sector began to expand rapidly. The takeover required cooperation from the central bank, which controls domestic payment rails. Analysts described the arrangement as consistent with a broader pattern in which the Guards declare an activity illegal and then dominate both the prohibition and the resulting black market.

John Wojcik, a former Infoblox researcher who spent years examining illegal gambling for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and now works at TRM Labs, characterised the network as the biggest Iranian illegal gambling operation ever discovered and one of the largest worldwide. He also ranked it among the most significant Iranian sanctions-evasion schemes uncovered since a roughly $20 billion gold-for-oil operation was dismantled in 2016.

Investigators could not establish whether the Revolutionary Guards exercise direct day-to-day control over Shelbit or the gambling sites, nor could they determine the final destination of the bulk of the cryptocurrency.

Regulatory Response

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and the Department of Economy and Tourism took enforcement action against Shelbit in 2025 for operating without a licence. On 24 July the regulator issued a public notice ordering the firm to cease all unlicensed virtual-asset activities immediately, citing violations related to money laundering and terrorism financing. The notice stated that the identified exposure extended beyond consumer protection to cross-border transactions capable of affecting the integrity of the UAE financial system. A person familiar with the matter said the authority is examining Shelbit’s alleged role in facilitating Iranian money laundering and sanctions evasion, along with Kayvanpour and others connected to crypto-based illegal gambling.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country maintains strict oversight and works with international partners to disrupt illicit financial flows. A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department stated that the Office of Foreign Assets Control is aware of the allegations and is treating them very seriously, noting that the department has aggressively targeted Iranian-regime-linked digital assets.

Binance said Shelbit never held an account on its platform and was never sanctioned. The company added that when users associated with Shelbit interacted with its systems, its compliance programme investigated, froze relevant accounts and reported them to law enforcement. It further stated that an independent analytics firm had not classified the flows as high risk.

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