Audit log

Every state-changing event for Siavash Kayvanpour: moderation decisions on community submissions, plus corrections and updates from the news pipeline. URL-based decisions are designed to carry three independent witnesses — the original source, an Internet Archive snapshot, and a Solana memo signed by our publicly-disclosed publisher key. Archive coverage is still being backfilled, so each decision below reports its own snapshot status rather than assuming one exists.

1. #1publishby system:backfill

   2026-08-07 23:13:25Z
   Score: ? → ? (no score change)
   anchorpending

   chain

   ●—

   hash

   EJmmgGLEcWLc…T88tdmYZcopysha256 → base58

   verifying row…

   canonical bytes (22171 B) ▸

   {"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"c085b4ca-51b9-4be4-bcf4-a89fd7148bed","kind":"publish","page_slug":"siavash-kayvanpour","published_at":"2026-08-07T23:13:25.401Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Siavash Kayvanpour","sections":[{"content":"On August 7, 2026, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Siavash Kayvanpour under Executive Order 13224, which targets individuals and entities that provide material support to designated terrorist organizations. OFAC's designation cites Kayvanpour for materially assisting the IRGC and Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, both of which are U.S.-designated entities. OFAC simultaneously sanctioned a network of companies owned or controlled by Kayvanpour, including Georgia-based SHPS Shelbit, Poland-based Shelbit Technologies Ltd, UAE-based Crypto Home DMCC, and UAE-based NFT Home DMCC. As a result of the designation, all property and interests in property of Kayvanpour and his controlled entities subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him.","heading":"OFAC Designation and Sanctions Basis","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Treasury Sanctions Crypto Exchanges Funding Iran's IRGC and Enabling Illicit Finance — U.S. Department of the Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0598"},{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. sanctions Iran-linked crypto exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/08/07/u-s-widens-iran-crypto-crackdown-with-sanctions-on-two-exchanges"},{"credibility":1,"name":"US Sanctions Dubai Crypto Exchange for Aiding Iran's IRGC — U.S. News / Reuters","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2026-08-07/us-sanctions-dubai-crypto-exchange-for-aiding-irans-irgc-following-a-reuters-report"}]},{"content":"Kayvanpour was born in Iran and has obtained additional citizenship from Dominica and Afghanistan. At the time of his designation he was resident in the United Arab Emirates. He operates a multi-jurisdictional corporate network built to support his cryptocurrency exchange activities. The primary operating entity is SHPS Shelbit, incorporated in the Republic of Georgia and holding a General Service licence issued within the Tbilisi Free Industrial Zone for crypto brokerage and virtual asset service provider (VASP) activities. A second entity, Shelbit Technologies Ltd (registered as Shelbit Technologies Ltd Sp. z o.o.), was incorporated in Warsaw, Poland on August 24, 2023, and is owned by Kayvanpour. In the UAE, Kayvanpour serves as sole manager of Crypto Home DMCC and NFT Home DMCC, both registered in Dubai. The public-facing exchange, informally known as Shelbit, operated without a license from an office above a budget hotel in Dubai's Deira district and maintained no public website.","heading":"Identity and Corporate Structure","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Treasury Sanctions Crypto Exchanges Funding Iran's IRGC and Enabling Illicit Finance — U.S. Department of the Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0598"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Shelbit Technologies Ltd company profile — EMIS Poland","type":"other","url":"https://www.emis.com/php/company-profile/PL/Shelbit_Technologies_Ltd_Sp_z_oo_en_14791594.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ghost Exchange Shelbit Moved $4B in Iran Sanctions Funds Through Dubai — TechTimes","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/322512/20260731/ghost-exchange-shelbit-moved-4b-iran-sanctions-funds-through-dubai.htm"}]},{"content":"According to OFAC's designation, digital currency addresses belonging to or controlled by the IRGC sent the equivalent of over $1 million to Shelbit Exchange addresses. More than $2 million also flowed in the reverse direction, from Shelbit Exchange addresses to IRGC-linked addresses. Separately, wallets controlled by Kayvanpour personally sent over $2 million to Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, which the United States sanctioned in June 2026. These flows form the direct evidentiary basis for Kayvanpour's designation under E.O. 13224. The broader Reuters investigation published on July 31, 2026 identified Shelbit as processing at least $4 billion in digital assets since May 2024, with funds sourced from or delivered to Iran's central bank, IRGC-linked wallets identified by Israeli authorities, Nobitex, and an Iranian Bitcoin-mining operation.","heading":"Financial Flows to IRGC and Nobitex","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Treasury Sanctions Crypto Exchanges Funding Iran's IRGC and Enabling Illicit Finance — U.S. Department of the Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0598"},{"credibility":2,"name":"$4B Iran Crypto Operation Exposed Through Dubai Exchange — CryptoTimes / Reuters","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/07/31/4b-iran-crypto-operation-exposed-through-dubai-exchange/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"US Treasury's OFAC Sanctions 2 Iran-Linked Crypto Exchanges — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-treasury-sanctions-iran-crypto-exchanges"}]},{"content":"Shelbit's largest alleged client was a conglomerate of over 2,000 Farsi-language online gambling websites, an activity that is illegal under Iranian law. The network reportedly used access to Iran's domestic payment infrastructure — connected to central bank-controlled rails — to funnel proceeds through Shelbit for conversion into cryptocurrency and onward transfer to global exchanges. Tens of millions of dollars from this gambling operation are alleged to have been laundered through Shelbit. The public faces of the gambling operation were two Iranian social media influencers, Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari, who promoted the betting platforms online and drove user traffic to them. Both influencers were convicted in an Iranian court in 2023 on illegal gambling charges, as was Kayvanpour himself. Sobhani and Mokhtari have denied involvement in money laundering, sanctions evasion, or handling government funds, describing their roles as limited to paid social media advertising. Pooyan Mokhtari was arrested in Dubai in April 2026 and accused by UAE authorities of financing Iranian terrorist organizations before being expelled; he subsequently relocated to Hong Kong.","heading":"Illegal Gambling Network","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Shelbit linked to $4B illicit Iranian gambling network — Crypto Briefing","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/shelbit-4b-illicit-iranian-gambling-network/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Binance linked to Iranian money-moving operation tied to illegal gambling and sanctions evasion — Crypto Briefing","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/binance-iran-shelbit-sanctions-evasion-gambling/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Complex Iranian Gambling Network Allegedly Used to Skip Sanctions — GamblingNews","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/complex-iranian-gambling-network-allegedly-used-to-skip-sanctions/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Inside Iran's Massive Illegal Gambling Network Evading Sanctions — NewsNet5","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.newsnet5.com/news/inside-iran-massive-illegal-gambling-network-evading-sanctions/"}]},{"content":"Siavash Kayvanpour was convicted by an Iranian court in 2023 on charges related to illegal gambling, in proceedings that also resulted in the conviction of influencers Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari, who were the public promoters of the gambling network. The specific sentence handed down to Kayvanpour has been reported as approximately three months, although details of the conviction remain based on secondary reporting. The conviction predates the formation of several of the corporate entities subsequently sanctioned by OFAC.","heading":"Iranian Criminal Conviction (2023)","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"$4B Iran Crypto Operation Exposed Through Dubai Exchange — CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/07/31/4b-iran-crypto-operation-exposed-through-dubai-exchange/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Illicit Iranian Gambling Network Helped Pull Off a $4 Billion Sanctions Dodge — Times of Israel","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.timesofisrael.com/illicit-iranian-gambling-network-helped-pull-off-a-4-billion-sanctions-dodge/"}]},{"content":"Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) fined Shelbit General Trading L.L.C. in January 2025 for operating virtual asset services in Dubai without a valid regulatory license, failing to conduct mandatory Know-Your-Customer (KYC) checks, and marketing its services without authorization. Despite the fine, Shelbit continued operations. Approximately $540 million in cryptocurrency flowed from Shelbit-linked wallets to Binance after the VARA fine was imposed. On July 24, 2026, following inquiries from Reuters in connection with its investigation, VARA issued an immediate cease-and-desist order against Shelbit, citing severe violations of money laundering and terrorism financing laws that VARA determined threatened the integrity of the UAE financial system. Binance stated that Shelbit itself never held a direct account with Binance and that the company conducted internal investigations, freezing and reporting any accounts found to be connected to the network.","heading":"Dubai Regulatory Actions Against Shelbit","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Dubai's VARA publishes notice of fines regarding Shelbit General Trading — FX News Group","type":"regulatory","url":"https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/cryptocurrency/dubais-vara-publishes-notice-of-fines-regarding-shelbit-general-trading/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Dubai Cracks Down on Unlicensed Crypto Firms as VARA Fines 19 Entities — Finance Magnates","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/dubai-cracks-down-on-unlicensed-crypto-firms-as-vara-fines-19-entities/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Iran-linked exchange sent $676 million to Binance wallets in alleged sanctions-evasion operation — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/410355/iran-linked-exchange-sent-676-million-to-binance-in-alleged-sanctions-evasion-operation-reuters"}]},{"content":"Blockchain analysis conducted as part of the Reuters investigation published July 31, 2026 traced approximately $676 million moving from Shelbit-linked wallets to Binance during the period under review. Binance confirmed it was not aware of a direct Shelbit account and stated it had frozen and reported any accounts found to be connected to the Shelbit network following internal investigation. The broader Shelbit network was also found to have transacted with other Iranian exchanges including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, Ramzinex, and Zedcex/Zedxion (the latter two were sanctioned in January 2026). Separately, Tether froze a total of approximately $475 million in USDT linked to Iran's central bank in two tranches: approximately $344 million frozen in April 2026 and $131 million frozen in July 2026 following OFAC's addition of four wallet addresses to its sanctions list.","heading":"Binance Flows and Broader Exchange Exposure","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Reuters Traces $676M From an Iran-Linked Exchange to Binance — CoinPaprika","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinpaprika.com/news/reuters-traces-676m-iran-linked-exchange/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. OFAC adds four Iran central bank crypto wallets to sanctions, Tether freezes $131 million of USDT — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/07/16/u-s-adds-four-iran-central-bank-crypto-wallets-to-sanctions-tether-freezes-usd131-million-of-contents"},{"credibility":2,"name":"OFAC Updates Central Bank of Iran Designation Following Tether Seizure — Chainalysis","type":"research","url":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/central-bank-of-iran-designation-ofac-update-april-2026/"}]},{"content":"Kayvanpour's personal designation under E.O. 13224 means that any U.S. person who transacts with him, his controlled wallets, or any of his designated entities — SHPS Shelbit (Georgia), Shelbit Technologies Ltd (Poland), Crypto Home DMCC (UAE), or NFT Home DMCC (UAE) — is in violation of U.S. sanctions law. Non-U.S. persons may also face secondary sanctions risk. Cryptocurrency wallet addresses associated with Kayvanpour and the Shelbit network were added to OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list as part of the August 7, 2026 action. Any exchange or counterparty that has interacted with Shelbit-linked wallets should conduct a retroactive blockchain screening review to assess exposure.","heading":"Sanctions Compliance Risk","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Treasury Sanctions Crypto Exchanges Funding Iran's IRGC and Enabling Illicit Finance — U.S. Department of the Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0598"},{"credibility":3,"name":"US Sanctions Shelbit for Processing Crypto Linked to Iran's IRGC — Mezha.net","type":"news_article","url":"https://mezha.net/eng/bukvy/27a29c72_us_sanctions_shelbit/"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Treasury Sanctions Crypto Exchanges Funding Iran's IRGC and Enabling Illicit Finance — U.S. Department of the Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0598"},{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. sanctions Iran-linked crypto exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/08/07/u-s-widens-iran-crypto-crackdown-with-sanctions-on-two-exchanges"},{"credibility":1,"name":"US Sanctions Dubai Crypto Exchange for Aiding Iran's IRGC, Following a Reuters Report — U.S. News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2026-08-07/us-sanctions-dubai-crypto-exchange-for-aiding-irans-irgc-following-a-reuters-report"},{"credibility":2,"name":"$4B Iran Crypto Operation Exposed Through Dubai Exchange — CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/07/31/4b-iran-crypto-operation-exposed-through-dubai-exchange/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Iran-linked exchange sent $676 million to Binance wallets in alleged sanctions-evasion operation — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/410355/iran-linked-exchange-sent-676-million-to-binance-in-alleged-sanctions-evasion-operation-reuters"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Shelbit linked to $4B illicit Iranian gambling network — Crypto Briefing","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/shelbit-4b-illicit-iranian-gambling-network/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Binance linked to Iranian money-moving operation tied to illegal gambling and sanctions evasion — Crypto Briefing","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/binance-iran-shelbit-sanctions-evasion-gambling/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"US Treasury's OFAC Sanctions 2 Iran-Linked Crypto Exchanges — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-treasury-sanctions-iran-crypto-exchanges"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Complex Iranian Gambling Network Allegedly Used to Skip Sanctions — GamblingNews","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/complex-iranian-gambling-network-allegedly-used-to-skip-sanctions/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Dubai's VARA publishes notice of fines regarding Shelbit General Trading — FX News Group","type":"regulatory","url":"https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/cryptocurrency/dubais-vara-publishes-notice-of-fines-regarding-shelbit-general-trading/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Dubai Cracks Down on Unlicensed Crypto Firms as VARA Fines 19 Entities — Finance Magnates","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/dubai-cracks-down-on-unlicensed-crypto-firms-as-vara-fines-19-entities/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"OFAC Updates Central Bank of Iran Designation Following Tether Seizure — Chainalysis","type":"research","url":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/central-bank-of-iran-designation-ofac-update-april-2026/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"U.S. OFAC adds four Iran central bank crypto wallets to sanctions, Tether freezes $131 million of USDT — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/07/16/u-s-adds-four-iran-central-bank-crypto-wallets-to-sanctions-tether-freezes-usd131-million-of-contents"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Illicit Iranian Gambling Network Helped Pull Off a $4 Billion Sanctions Dodge — Times of Israel","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.timesofisrael.com/illicit-iranian-gambling-network-helped-pull-off-a-4-billion-sanctions-dodge/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Shelbit Technologies Ltd Sp. z o.o. company profile — EMIS Poland","type":"other","url":"https://www.emis.com/php/company-profile/PL/Shelbit_Technologies_Ltd_Sp_z_oo_en_14791594.html"},{"credibility":3,"name":"US Sanctions Shelbit for Processing Crypto Linked to Iran's IRGC — Mezha.net","type":"news_article","url":"https://mezha.net/eng/bukvy/27a29c72_us_sanctions_shelbit/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Reuters Traces $676M From an Iran-Linked Exchange to Binance — CoinPaprika","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinpaprika.com/news/reuters-traces-676m-iran-linked-exchange/"}],"summary":"Siavash Kayvanpour is an Iranian-born expatriate and the identified primary operator of the Shelbit Exchange, a Dubai-based unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange that processed at least $4 billion since May 2024. On August 7, 2026, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Kayvanpour personally under Executive Order 13224 for materially supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the sanctioned exchange Nobitex. Any transaction with Kayvanpour or his controlled wallets and entities constitutes a U.S. sanctions violation.","timeline":[{"date":"2023-01-01","event":"Siavash Kayvanpour convicted by an Iranian court on illegal gambling charges alongside influencers Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari.","source":"CryptoTimes / Reuters investigation","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/07/31/4b-iran-crypto-operation-exposed-through-dubai-exchange/"},{"date":"2023-08-24","event":"Shelbit Technologies Ltd Sp. z o.o. incorporated in Warsaw, Poland, with Kayvanpour as owner.","source":"EMIS Poland company profile","source_url":"https://www.emis.com/php/company-profile/PL/Shelbit_Technologies_Ltd_Sp_z_oo_en_14791594.html"},{"date":"2024-05-01","event":"Shelbit Exchange begins active operations, processing cryptocurrency through its unlicensed Dubai-based platform.","source":"Reuters investigation via CryptoTimes","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/07/31/4b-iran-crypto-operation-exposed-through-dubai-exchange/"},{"date":"2025-01-01","event":"Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) fines Shelbit General Trading L.L.C. for operating without a license, failing KYC requirements, and unauthorized marketing.","source":"FX News Group / Finance Magnates","source_url":"https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/cryptocurrency/dubais-vara-publishes-notice-of-fines-regarding-shelbit-general-trading/"},{"date":"2026-04-01","event":"Tether freezes approximately $344 million in USDT linked to Iran's central bank wallets at U.S. authorities' request.","source":"Chainalysis / CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/central-bank-of-iran-designation-ofac-update-april-2026/"},{"date":"2026-04-01","event":"Pooyan Mokhtari arrested in Dubai and accused by UAE authorities of financing Iranian terrorist organizations; subsequently expelled from the UAE and relocates to Hong Kong.","source":"GamblingNews","source_url":"https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/complex-iranian-gambling-network-allegedly-used-to-skip-sanctions/"},{"date":"2026-06-01","event":"United States sanctions Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, a designated entity to which Kayvanpour's wallets sent over $2 million.","source":"U.S. Treasury / CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/08/07/u-s-widens-iran-crypto-crackdown-with-sanctions-on-two-exchanges"},{"date":"2026-07-16","event":"OFAC adds four Iran central bank cryptocurrency wallet addresses to the SDN list; Tether freezes an additional $131 million in USDT held in TRON-based addresses.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/07/16/u-s-adds-four-iran-central-bank-crypto-wallets-to-sanctions-tether-freezes-usd131-million-of-contents"},{"date":"2026-07-24","event":"VARA issues immediate cease-and-desist order against Shelbit following Reuters inquiries, citing money laundering and terrorism financing violations.","source":"FX News Group","source_url":"https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/cryptocurrency/dubais-vara-publishes-notice-of-fines-regarding-shelbit-general-trading/"},{"date":"2026-07-31","event":"Reuters publishes investigation identifying Shelbit as the hub of a $4 billion Iranian sanctions-evasion scheme, linking it to the IRGC, Iran's central bank, over 2,000 gambling websites, and Nobitex. Reuters also reports $676 million flowed from Shelbit-linked wallets to Binance.","source":"Reuters via CryptoTimes / The Block","source_url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/07/31/4b-iran-crypto-operation-exposed-through-dubai-exchange/"},{"date":"2026-08-07","event":"OFAC designates Siavash Kayvanpour personally under E.O. 13224, along with Shelbit Exchange and four affiliated entities (SHPS Shelbit, Shelbit Technologies Ltd, Crypto Home DMCC, NFT Home DMCC). Aban Tether is simultaneously designated under E.O. 13902.","source":"U.S. Department of the Treasury","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0598"}]},"v":1}

   Verify offline (run on your own machine)

   python -m src.verify_decision f8f9879e-688b-4efd-9b84-8513a77a9c83copy