In collaboration with local law enforcement, the stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen 32 addresses containing $873,000 USDT associated with terrorist activity in Israel and Ukraine.
The company has frozen 873,118 USDT associated with illegal activity in Israel and Ukraine. The action was taken with the Israel National Bureau for Countering Terrorist Financing.
Paolo Ardoino, named CEO of Tether in October 2023, emphasized that cryptocurrency transactions are readily traceable on blockchain platforms, which has enabled Tether to assist in preventing the use of USDT for terrorist funding.
“Contrary to popular belief, cryptocurrency transactions are not anonymous; they are the most traceable and trackable assets.”
The CEO added that the stablecoin issuer is actively collaborating with global law enforcement agencies to track and trace the illicit movement of funds and, if feasible, to freeze assets associated with criminal or terrorist activity.
Tether had suspended over $360 million in assets by the end of 2022. Subsequently, the company reissued more than $100 million in USDT that had been intercepted.
The company now estimates that it has frozen a total of $835 million in USDT associated primarily with breaches involving blockchain technology and cryptocurrency exchanges. Tether has collaborated with 32 countries across the globe to combat cybercrime involving its dollar-backed stablecoin.
In June 2023, Israel’s defense minister Yoav Gallant announced that the nation had seized cryptocurrency wallets containing millions of dollars transferred to the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
Using Chainalysis’s blockchain analysis tools, over $1.7 million worth of cryptocurrencies were confiscated during the operation.
In the meantime, blockchain data indicates that cybercriminals have abandoned Bitcoin to transfer value over the internet in favor of stablecoins and alternative coins due to their accessibility and ability to be laundered via decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
Recall that last week, US Senator Elizabeth Warren also blamed cryptocurrency as an enabler of the Israel-Palestine war as it was used for funding.
