Tether USDT Facilitates Iranian Transactions Amid Sanctions, Senate Report Claims
- The U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether is reportedly used by the Iranian government to bypass international sanctions.
- A Senate report claims Tether’s USDT has become a critical financial lifeline within Iran’s cryptocurrency-based shadow banking network.
- The report indicates that Tether has “repeatedly failed” to block wallets associated with Iran, allowing significant transaction volumes.
- When Tether does freeze wallets, it can take weeks, and there are instances where requests do not lead to actual blacklisting.
- Prior to the upcoming year, Tether did not consistently freeze wallets flagged by counter-terrorism agencies, inviting misuse by organizations like Hamas.
The findings highlight how Tether’s operations may inadvertently support illicit activities in Iran’s economy, particularly through its shadow banking network. This situation raises concerns about the effectiveness of compliance measures within the stablecoin sector.
The report emphasizes that Tether’s failure to block illicit wallets has led terrorist organizations to shift from Bitcoin to promoting USDT for transactions.(Source)
