Tether helps authorities recover $109 million worth of USDT involved in illegal transactions

The company has been cooperating with law enforcement agencies around the world since launching the asset in 2014

26.08.2024 - 08:55

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2 min

Last updated on Nov 19, 2024

What’s new? Tether announced in a new press release that it has helped more than 145 law enforcement agencies in 40 jurisdictions recover $108,8 million in USDT stablecoins associated with illicit activity since the asset’s launch in 2014. USDT issued by Tether is the largest stablecoin in the crypto market, behind only bitcoin and Ethereum ($117,8 billion) in terms of capitalization.

Press release

What else is known? In addition, Tether has blocked over 1900 criminal wallets in cooperation with authorities around the world since the asset’s existence.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the company continues to support law enforcement efforts to combat the illegal use of cryptocurrencies and unequivocally condemns the use of USDT and other digital assets for criminal purposes.

This month, the company helped the US Department of Justice and the FBI seize nearly $5 million USDT stolen from a fraudulent scheme using a method known as Pig Butchering. In this scheme, cybercriminals use social engineering to gain the trust of potential victims by feigning friendship or romantic relationships to then recommend investments in a controlled crypto platform in order to steal them.

In March, Tether also helped the US Department of Justice seize $1,4 million in USDT because of the assets’ connection to a fraudulent scheme under the guise of customer service. Tether previously connected the FBI and the US Secret Service to its platform to assist in investigations.

Tether will double its headcount to comply with regulatory requirements

One of the largest companies in the crypto industry now employs about a hundred people

By mid-2025, Tether plans to increase its staff from 100 to 200 to strengthen its compliance and financial management departments.

Already, Tether blocks all USDT wallets on the sanctions list and also independently monitors the asset’s secondary market in conjunction with Chainalysis to counter illegal transactions.

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