A Reuters investigation has put Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Nobitex, under fresh scrutiny, linking its founding brothers to one of the Islamic Republic’s most influential families and tracing exchange flows tied to sanctioned state entities. For crypto market participants, the report matters on two levels: it raises new questions about who really controls a key regional exchange, and it highlights how large, locally dominant platforms can sit at the intersection of civilian demand, sanctions pressure, and state financial activity. Nobitex disputes any direct government relationship and says illicit transactions, if they occurred, happened without management approval or knowledge.
Reuters Uncovers Nobitex’s Elite Family Roots
According to Reuters, Nobitex was founded by brothers Ali and Mohammad using the surname Aghamir rather than Kharrazi, a family name tied to a powerful clerical and political dynasty in Iran. Reuters said it traced the connection through Iranian corporate, government, and banking records, as well as leaked databases cross-referenced with national identification numbers. The report said the brothers are sons of Ayatollah Bagher Kharrazi and belong to a family connected by marriage to the three supreme leaders of the Islamic Republic.
Reuters reported that the brothers’ use of the Aghamir surname obscured those ties for years, including inside the company. Seven former employees and professional acquaintances told Reuters they were unaware of the family connection, with one former employee saying, “I was pretty open about my criticism for the regime, and my colleagues were, too. Discovering the brothers’ family name made me afraid. I did a lot of hate speech against the regime and religion.” Reuters said it could not determine why the brothers consistently distanced themselves from the Kharrazi name.
Nobitex, in statements emailed to Reuters, rejected the suggestion that it had concealed government links through the brothers’ identities. “Nobitex is a private and independent business. It has never been an arm of the government and has never had any relationship, arrangement, agreement, or contract with the Central Bank of Iran, the IRGC, or any other governmental body,” the company said. Reuters also noted that Nobitex denied the brothers had changed their identity and said they had used the Aghamir name “in the ordinary course of their lives.”
Probe Details IRGC and Central Bank Crypto Flows
The Reuters report said blockchain analysis by Crystal Intelligence, along with interviews with private financial investigators and former Nobitex employees, found the exchange had processed transactions linked to sanctioned Iranian entities including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s central bank. Reuters said estimates vary sharply by analytics firm. Elliptic identified about $366 million processed through the exchange, Chainalysis estimated roughly $68 million, and Crystal Intelligence found $22 million in direct transfers from sanctioned wallets. Reuters added that even the highest estimate represented around 3% of Nobitex’s total crypto volume of roughly $11 billion, while all three firms cautioned the real number is likely higher.
One part of the Reuters reporting focused on wallet addresses published by Babak Zanjani, the Iranian businessman convicted of fraud, during a dispute with Iran’s central bank. According to Reuters, outside analysts used those addresses to identify a broader sanctions-evasion network in which Nobitex allegedly played a central role. Crystal Intelligence’s Nick Smart and another analyst told Reuters that at least $20 million in sanctioned central bank funds moved to wallets controlled by Nobitex, while Elliptic said the central bank sent about $347 million to Nobitex in the first half of 2025 as part of a network that acquired more than $500 million in crypto.
Nobitex told Reuters that any illicit funds moving through the platform represented “a very small fraction of overall volume” and occurred without the company’s knowledge. It added, “Where suspicious or non-compliant conduct is identified, Nobitex’s approach is firm, including permanent account closure.” Reuters also cited the company’s broader denial: “We have faced significant operational restrictions from the Iranian government, including office raids, domain blocking, and banking gateway closures. These actions are entirely inconsistent with the notion that we are receiving any form of governmental support.”
Reuters placed the exchange’s role in sharper relief by pointing to its scale. Nobitex claims 11 million users and Reuters said it handles an estimated 70% of Iran’s crypto transactions, making it a crucial bridge between the domestic economy and global digital asset markets. During Iran’s wartime internet blackout, Reuters reported, Nobitex continued operating and processed more than $100 million in transactions, citing Crystal Intelligence. “The concern with Nobitex is that since it has so much activity that belongs to normal Iranians, it is hard to separate the regime from the people using the platform,” Smart told Reuters. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, also commented on the findings, saying, “This latest reporting is a flashing red light: Adversaries are using digital assets as an alternative to the U.S.-led global financial system. Moving billions easily because too many services across the crypto ecosystem lack basic controls to prevent money laundering and sanctions evasion.”
AI Transparency Note: This article was prepared with the assistance of an AI system based on the sources listed and was reviewed, edited, and approved by a human editor before publication. All quotes, data points, and factual claims are intended to be grounded in the cited source material; however, errors cannot be ruled out entirely.
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