Tether CEO Dismisses Reports That the Stablecoin Company Is Under Investigation by the U.S. Government

The report came from Wall Street Journal only an hour before this time of writing – and talks about prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office

Stablecoin company Tether is reportedly being investigated by U.S. prosecutors over whether the company was used to fund illegal activities.

The report, published by the Wall Street Journal on March 14, 2023, claims that prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office are looking into whether Tether was used to fund activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, and hacking.

The report also claims that the Treasury Department is considering imposing sanctions on Tether due to the stablecoin allegedly being used by U.S.-sanctioned groups, including Hamas.

If the stablecoin company is sanctioned by the U.S. Government, it could have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market. As the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, many crypto firms in the United States integrate USDT into their platforms.

However, if the sanctions are imposed, U.S. citizens will be prohibited from using USDT as a payment method in the country.

Tether CEO Responds to Accusations

Following the publication of the report by the Wall Street Journal, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino quickly dismissed the claims.

Less than 20 minutes after the article was published, Ardoino took to X (formerly Twitter) to deny the claims of investigations by the Federal Government.

“As we told to WSJ there is no indication that Tether is under investigation,” wrote Ardoino in response to the report. “WSJ is regurgitating old noise. Full stop.”

By “old noise,” Ardoino is likely referring to the countless accusations claiming that Tether was used to fund terrorist groups and other U.S.-sanctioned groups in the past. Despite these claims, no tangible accusation has been put forward so far.

However, the company has seen its share of controversy over recent years. In 2021, Tether was ordered to pay a $18.5 million fine after the New York Attorney General’s office accused Tether and its parent company and crypto exchange Bitfinex of not being transparent about the nearly $87 billion reserves that back USDT.

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