Binance linked to Iranian money-moving operation tied to illegal gambling and sanctions evasion

A Reuters investigation has traced a sprawling sanctions-evasion network from Tehran’s financial system to one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, and the numbers are hard to ignore. At the center of it sits Shelbit, an unlicensed Dubai-based crypto exchange that processed at least $4 billion in digital assets since May 2024, acting as a financial bridge between Iranian state-linked entities, illegal gambling operations, and global crypto markets. How the network worked One of its biggest clients was an illegal Farsi-language gambling network spanning more than 2,000 websites. That operation was run by influencers Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari, both of whom were convicted in Iran on illegal gambling charges in 2023. Despite those convictions, the network kept running, and Shelbit kept processing. At least $250 million flowed through Shelbit specifically tied to those gambling sites. The exchange also reportedly maintained connections to Nobitex, a sanctioned Iranian crypto platform, and to entities linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, known as the IRGC. Blockchain analysis conducted as part of the Reuters investigation found that approximately $676 million move...