NBG Says U.S.-Sanctioned Shelbit Was Not Regulated in Georgia
By Messenger Staff
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Georgia's National Bank said the crypto company Shelbit, recently sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, was not regulated by the NBG and had never applied for the registration required to operate as a virtual asset service provider in Georgia.
The NBG said Shelbit, legally registered as LLC Shelbit (SHPS SHELBIT), had not sought registration with the bank and that its company registration had since been canceled, according to the Business Registry.
"The entity sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) - LLC Shelbit (SHPS SHELBIT) - has not applied to the National Bank of Georgia for registration as a Virtual Asset Service Provider and, consequently, is not an entity regulated by the NBG," the bank said.
The NBG stressed that virtual asset services are strictly regulated in Georgia and that companies operating in the sector must undergo mandatory registration before providing such services.
The bank said its regulatory system establishes strict requirements for entering and operating in the virtual asset market, describing the registration process as an important safeguard against entities linked to illicit activities.
It also said Georgia's rules for virtual asset service providers comply with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and international best practices. The NBG pointed to a 2024 assessment by the Council of Europe's MONEYVAL committee, which gave Georgia a "largely compliant" rating under FATF Recommendation 15, covering new technologies and the regulation of virtual asset service providers.
The NBG noted that the same rating was held by countries including the United Kingdom and France.
The statement followed U.S. sanctions against Shelbit as part of measures targeting crypto companies accused of supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and facilitating illicit finance.
According to the U.S. Treasury, Iranian-born Siavash Kayvanpour, who also holds citizenship of Dominica and Afghanistan and has lived in the United Arab Emirates, operates a network of companies involved in illicit digital currency activity, including Shelbit, which operates the Shelbit Exchange from Georgia.
The Treasury said digital currency addresses linked to the IRGC had transferred more than $1 million in assets to Shelbit Exchange addresses, while more than $2 million had been transferred from Shelbit Exchange addresses to IRGC-linked addresses.
