U.S. Sanctions Georgia Crypto Firm Over Alleged Iran Links
By Messenger Staff
Monday, August 10, 2026
The United States has sanctioned a Georgia-registered cryptocurrency company and its owner, accusing them of moving funds for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and helping circumvent U.S. sanctions.
The Treasury Department said on Aug. 7 that SHPS Shelbit and its owner, Siavash Kayvanpour, were part of a network used to move illicit cryptocurrency. Kayvanpour, an Iranian-born citizen of Dominica and Afghanistan who lives in the United Arab Emirates, operates the Shelbit Exchange, according to the Treasury.
U.S. officials said wallets linked to the IRGC sent more than $1 million in cryptocurrency to Shelbit, while more than $2 million moved from Shelbit-linked wallets to IRGC addresses.
The Treasury also said wallets controlled by Kayvanpour transferred more than $2 million to Nobitex, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange previously sanctioned by Washington.
OFAC accused Shelbit of providing services to a Persian-language gambling network that it said moved "tens of millions of dollars" in cryptocurrency. Kayvanpour and several companies linked to him in the UAE and Poland were also sanctioned.
The sanctions prohibit U.S. persons from dealing with the designated individuals and companies and freeze any assets they hold under U.S. jurisdiction.
Georgia's National Bank said Sunday that SHPS Shelbit was never registered as a virtual asset service provider and had never applied for registration. Its company registration had also been canceled, the bank said.
The bank said cryptocurrency service providers in Georgia must be registered with the central bank and are subject to rules intended to keep illicit actors out of the sector.
The sanctions prompted a political reaction in Washington. U.S. Representative Joe Wilson, a critic of Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party, accused Iranian networks of using Georgian companies to evade sanctions.
"As suspected, Iranian terrorists are using Georgian companies to evade sanctions, launder money, and undermine American interests," Wilson wrote on X.
