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31 Jul 2026, 19:06

On Friday, August 9, 2026, Reuters published an investigative report about the IRGC's use of an illegal gambling network in Iran that moves billions of dollars despite sanctions. The report mentions a cryptocurrency exchange based in Dubai that has become a hub for transferring illegal Iranian funds.

In the Reuters report, the mentioned exchange is identified as "Shalbit," and it has been confirmed that this exchange connects a vast gambling network run by two prominent international influencers on social media to Bitcoin mining and the Central Bank of Iran.

According to the published report, "Shalbit" has transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to "Binance," the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Two cryptocurrency research firms and an independent analyst have provided evidence showing that the registered address of the unlicensed exchange "Shalbit" is an office above a budget hotel in a relatively ordinary and not very prominent area of Dubai. This exchange is operated by an Iranian residing abroad. Reuters has confirmed the information provided in this regard.

Another part of the report states that one of the main clients of "Shalbit" is a Persian-language gambling network consisting of over 2,000 websites, which is promoted and managed by two famous Iranian influencers on social media. It has been said that these two have connections at high levels of the Iranian government.

One of them operates from an expensive villa in Madrid, while the other was recently based in a luxury hotel in Hong Kong.

Both mentioned influencers, as well as the main person managing the "Shalbit" exchange, were convicted in Iran in 2023 for involvement in an illegal gambling case.

According to the laws of the Islamic Republic, "gambling" is illegal and carries penalties of imprisonment and flogging for offenders; nevertheless, the Reuters report confirms that this newly identified gambling network has access to Iran's online payment system, which is directly supervised by the Central Bank.

Shalbit, according to the Reuters report, is at the operational center that connects the gambling network, the Central Bank, and other sanctioned Iranian entities to the global cryptocurrency markets. One of the key figures in this gambling network is "Sasha Sobhani," the son of a former Iranian diplomat and ambassador, and the other is "Pouyan Mokhtari," a famous social media personality and singer who was recently moving between luxury hotels in Hong Kong after being expelled from Dubai in late April.

Pouyan Mokhtari recently stated during the U.S.-Israel conflict, in a video, that he is not opposed to the Islamic Republic and has undergone a "mental transformation."

Reuters' investigations reveal that the IRGC took control of the largest accessible gambling websites in Iran years ago and has since used these websites to transfer money abroad.
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