Tether froze $550M in Iran-linked USDT amid Senate sanctions probe

Iran-linked USDT — Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, disclosed it helped freeze nearly $550 million in Iran-linked assets this year, as a US Senate report alleged USDT has become a key channel for Iran to evade sanctions.

The company stated it froze more than $130 million across four wallets and over $344 million linked to the Central Bank of Iran in April. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the firm has consistently demonstrated that USDT is not a haven for sanctioned actors or criminal networks.

The disclosure came as Democratic investigators on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report finding that 84% of 846 crypto wallets sanctioned over ties to Iran had transacted exclusively or nearly exclusively in USDT. This prompted Senator Richard Blumenthal to call on the Treasury and Justice departments to investigate potential sanctions violations.

Tether said its global cooperation with authorities has resulted in more than $4.9 billion in assets being frozen, including over $2.4 billion connected to US authorities. Ardoino emphasized the company will continue to make its tracing and freezing capabilities available to authorities combating terrorism, sanctions evasion, and fraud.