Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, and crypto exchange OKX have collaborated with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to seize a record $225 million in illicit USDT funds. This marks the largest-ever freeze of USDT in history. The frozen funds were linked to an international human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia that was involved in a global romance scam known as the “pig butchering” scheme. The funds were locked in multiple self-custodied wallets associated with the criminal group. The freezing of the wallets was made possible through an investigation facilitated by Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm. Tether and OKX notified the DOJ and other law enforcement bodies about the illicit fund movements, leading to the request to freeze the wallets. Tether clarified that the frozen wallets are not directly tied to its customers and expressed its commitment to working with law enforcement and the wallet owners to resolve the situation. This development reflects the ongoing efforts by crypto-related entities to prevent unlawful fund transfers through cryptocurrencies. Tether has previously frozen addresses connected to illicit activities in Israel and Ukraine and has seized assets associated with thefts and other unlawful activities. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, emphasized the company’s stance against illegal crypto usage and its aim to establish higher safety standards in the crypto sphere. Similarly, OKX’s Chief Innovation Officer, Jason Lau, highlighted the exchange’s commitment to partnering with law enforcement and industry stakeholders to foster trust and contribute to public welfare. Tether has emerged as the leader in the stablecoin space, with a circulating supply of nearly 88 billion and a market dominance of 70%.

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Information	Details
Geography	Asia
Countries
Sentiment	positive
Relevance Score	1
People	Paolo Ardoino, Jason Lau
Companies	Chainalysis, OKX, Tether, U.S. Department of Justice, CryptoSlate
Currencies	US Dollar, Tether
Securities	None