Tether blacklists USDT wallets allegedly linked to the Finiko pyramid scheme
Earlier, the issuer of the stablecoin voluntarily started blocking all wallets from the US sanctions list
20.12.2023 - 14:45
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What’s new? On December 20, Tether, which issues USDT stablecoin, blacklisted five more wallets on the Ethereum network and one wallet on the TRON network. ChainArgos experts analyzed the transactions of these addresses and suggested that they could be linked to Kirill Doronin’s Finiko pyramid scheme, which operated in Russia and Kazakhstan and raised about 7 billion Russian rubles (RUB) in 2019-2021, offering “high-yield investment schemes” in real estate and cryptocurrencies.
What else is known? The company made payments to depositors in bitcoins, but in the summer of 2021 converted them to its own cryptocurrency FNK. The coin’s exchange rate momentarily jumped to $217, then fell to almost zero in July, and the company stopped making payments. Then the founder of the pyramid scheme, Doronin, was placed under arrest, which the court recently extended until January 30, 2024. He made a deal with the investigation and testified against his accomplices, but he did not admit guilt in fraud. Some of them were detained in the UAE after being listed in the Interpol database.
Earlier, Tether blocked all wallets from the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list without waiting for a corresponding order from the authorities. The company also sent a letter to the Senate, where it announced a shift to a more proactive stance on anti-money laundering. In addition, it has connected the FBI and the Secret Service to its platform.
Earlier, Senator Cynthia Lummis accused Tether of facilitating transfers in favor of terrorist groups, and Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo allowed the possibility of banning foreign issuers of stablecoins to combat illegal activity. Tether itself is registered in the British Virgin Islands.
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