Tether Faces Federal Probe Over Iran-Linked Asset Freezes
Tether, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDT, is facing calls for a federal probe despite its claims to have frozen nearly $550 million in Iran-linked assets this year. The company made the disclosure on Monday, stating that actions involving its token had resulted in the freezing of approximately $550 million across wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran and Iranian sanctions networks.
The figure represents a significant portion of the total amount frozen by Tether this year, with the company having previously disclosed that it froze more than $344 million in April after receiving tips from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and U.S. law enforcement.
Democratic investigators on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report last week calling USDT a key channel for Iran to dodge sanctions, with 84% of 846 sanctioned Iran-linked wallets relying almost entirely on USDT.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal has asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Todd Blanche to examine Tether's anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance, pointing out that Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm owned by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, owns 5% of Tether.