Tether, which issues the USDT stablecoin, blocked about $225 million in USDT as part of cooperation with the US Department of Justice, OKX cryptocurrency exchange and Chainalysis, an analytical firm.
According to the press release, the funds are linked to an international human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia. The volume of frozen USDT in Tether was called "the largest in history".
"During the months-long investigation conducted by Tether and OKX, US law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice, were warned in advance of the location of illegal funds by analyzing their movement through the blockchain. These actions led to a request for freezing by the US Secret Service and [subsequent] voluntary blocking by Tether," the company said.
Paolo Ardoino, who was appointed to the position of CEO of the issuer, called the work carried out"impressive".
"We believe in the need to use technology and connections, such as our collaboration with OKX, to actively counter illegal activities and maintain the highest standards of integrity in the industry," Ardoino added.
Earlier, Tether froze more than 2.5 million USDT withdrawn from the Multichain cross-chain protocol. In September, the issuer blocked $1.4 million of the $2.7 million stolen from the Remitano exchange.
According to the press release, the funds are linked to an international human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia. The volume of frozen USDT in Tether was called "the largest in history".
"During the months-long investigation conducted by Tether and OKX, US law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice, were warned in advance of the location of illegal funds by analyzing their movement through the blockchain. These actions led to a request for freezing by the US Secret Service and [subsequent] voluntary blocking by Tether," the company said.
Paolo Ardoino, who was appointed to the position of CEO of the issuer, called the work carried out"impressive".
"We believe in the need to use technology and connections, such as our collaboration with OKX, to actively counter illegal activities and maintain the highest standards of integrity in the industry," Ardoino added.
Earlier, Tether froze more than 2.5 million USDT withdrawn from the Multichain cross-chain protocol. In September, the issuer blocked $1.4 million of the $2.7 million stolen from the Remitano exchange.
