Dramatic Investigation: The Gambling Network That Became a Revolutionary Guard Arm

A Reuters investigation reveals a vast illegal gambling network operated by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The network laundered at least $4 billion since May 2024 through an unauthorized crypto exchange in Dubai called Shalbit, managed by Iranian exile Siavash Kiyanpour. The funds were used to bypass international sanctions and had direct links to the central bank in Tehran.

A dramatic investigation by the Reuters news agency, published over the weekend, reveals that one of the world's largest illegal gambling networks serves as a covert financial arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The network moved cryptocurrencies worth at least $4 billion since May 2024 through a front office in Dubai. This is a massive operation to bypass international sanctions imposed on the Tehran regime, largely managed by Iranian exiles with close ties to the highest echelons of the Islamic Republic. At the center of the operation is an unauthorized crypto exchange called Shalbit, managed by an Iranian exile named Siavash Kiyanpour. Its main clients are operators of a Persian-language gambling network comprising more than 2,000 websites, led by two Iranian social media influencers, Sasha Sovani and Pouyan Mokhtari, who were previously convicted in Iran. Independent blockchain researchers emphasize that this is a clear operation of the Revolutionary Guards. The financial data shows that Shalbit had direct interaction with the Central Bank of Iran and with digital wallets that the Israeli government linked to the Revolutionary Guards. Some of the funds flowed to the Binance exchange. The US Treasury Department said it is aware of the allegations and takes them seriously, emphasizing that the administration is aggressively targeting digital assets linked to the Iranian regime.