$676M From Iran-Linked Shelbit Exchange Flowed Into Binance, Reuters Reports

A Reuters investigation has traced $676 million in cryptocurrency flows into Binance from Shelbit, an unlicensed Dubai-based exchange that Dubai regulators had already fined and that the news agency links to an Iranian sanctions-evasion network. According to the report, Shelbit processed more than $4 billion in transactions since May 2024 through a web of accounts tied to Iranian gambling platforms, Iran’s central bank, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The $676 million figure represents the portion of that broader $4 billion flow that Reuters says specifically reached Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume. Both Reuters and independent reporting from BeInCrypto and The Block confirm the core numbers: an unlicensed Dubai operator, a multi-billion-dollar transaction network, and a nine-figure sum landing on Binance’s platform.

What Shelbit allegedly did

Shelbit operated in Dubai without a license and had previously been fined by local authorities, according to the reporting. Reuters describes it as a node in a larger network connecting Iranian gambling sites and state-linked financial institutions — including Iran’s central bank and the IRGC — to global crypto liquidity via intermediary exchanges.

The alleged mechanism let sanctioned Iranian entities convert funds into crypto, route them through Shelbit, and ultimately cash out or transact via mainstream venues like Binance — the same kind of sanctions-evasion pattern regulators in the US and elsewhere have flagged repeatedly in crypto markets tied to Iran.

Why the number matters for Binance

$676 million is a small fraction of Binance’s daily trading volume, which routinely runs into the tens of billions of dollars. But the figure matters less for its size relative to Binance’s book and more for what it signals about counterparty screening across offshore, unlicensed exchanges that feed liquidity into major platforms.

Binance has already paid a record $4.3 billion settlement with US authorities in 2023 over anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations, part of which specifically addressed transactions tied to Iran. A fresh report tracing hundreds of millions in Iran-linked funds onto the exchange, even indirectly through an intermediary like Shelbit, revives scrutiny of how effectively those compliance commitments are being enforced.

What it means for traders and the market

For everyday holders and traders, the immediate market impact is limited — there’s no indication Binance itself is under new sanctions or that user funds are at risk. The bigger takeaway is regulatory: reports like this keep sanctions-evasion enforcement on the radar for exchanges globally, and could feed into future OFAC actions or additional fines against intermediary platforms operating with weak licensing oversight in jurisdictions like Dubai.

Neither Binance nor Shelbit has issued a detailed public rebuttal to the Reuters findings at the time of writing. The scale of the alleged network — over $4 billion routed since May 2024 — suggests further disclosures or regulatory responses could follow as authorities in the US, UAE, and elsewhere assess the claims.

Read more: OFAC Sanctions Iran’s Hormuz Bitcoin Insurance Scheme Tied to $10B, $850M Binance Flows

Sources

• beincrypto.com
• theblock.co