Reuters: Founder of Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex linked to Supreme Leader's family

BlockBeats News, May 3rd, according to a Reuters investigation, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex was founded by two brothers Ali and Mohammad Kharrazi. The two reportedly used the alias "Aghamir" to participate in the company's registration and business activities, in order to downplay their connection to the powerful Kharrazi family in Iran.

The report stated that the Kharrazi family has long had close ties to Iran's Supreme Leader system, with links to Ali Khamenei and the prominent figure Mojtaba Khamenei, his successor. The brothers' grandfather served as a member of the Assembly of Experts responsible for appointing the Supreme Leader and was a mentor to Mojtaba; their father was involved in establishing the Iranian political organization Hezbollah and assisted in forming the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Reuters stated that Nobitex currently has over 11 million users and continues to operate even during nationwide internet shutdowns and periods of war in Iran. Analysts estimate that during the conflict, the platform processed over $100 million in cryptocurrency transactions, with a significant amount of funds flowing overseas.

Blockchain analytics firms pointed out that Nobitex has processed some transactions related to sanctioned entities, but different institutions have large disparities in their estimates: Elliptic estimates around $366 million in suspicious funds, while Chainalysis estimates around $68 million.

Furthermore, the report mentioned that wallet addresses associated with the Central Bank of Iran had transferred hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency to Nobitex in 2025, believed to be part of Iran's efforts to circumvent the financial sanctions system.