19.06.2025 03:05
The United States Department of Justice announced a significant legal action on Wednesday, filing to seize a record-breaking $225.3 million in USDT, Tether's stablecoin, representing the largest forfeiture ever connected to "pig butchering" cryptocurrency scams. This substantial sum, linked to a sophisticated Asian confidence scam network, highlights the growing challenge of combating cryptocurrency-based fraud.
Authorities successfully traced the laundered funds, initially obtained through deceptive investment schemes, through the OKX cryptocurrency exchange. The entire seized amount consisted of USDT, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, emphasizing the reach and impact of this criminal activity. The Justice Department's statement detailed a complex money-laundering operation involving hundreds of thousands of blockchain transactions designed to obfuscate the origin and ownership of the stolen funds. The intricate web of transactions aimed to conceal the illicit nature of the proceeds, making tracing the money a substantial investigative undertaking.
This successful seizure resulted from a collaborative effort. Tether, the issuer of USDT, played a crucial role, working closely with the U.S. Secret Service. Initial investigations, launched in 2023, initially focused on potential links to human trafficking; however, the investigation expanded to uncover the large-scale "pig butchering" scam. The cooperation between Tether and law enforcement underscores a growing commitment within the cryptocurrency industry to actively combat financial crime.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino publicly emphasized the company's dedication to compliance and its proactive role in preventing the misuse of stablecoins by malicious actors. Court documents further reveal that Tether, in collaboration with the OKX exchange, identified over 144 accounts potentially linked to the criminal activity, triggering the investigation and ultimately leading to this substantial seizure. This case underscores both the increasing sophistication of cryptocurrency-based crime and the potential for effective collaboration between private companies and law enforcement in disrupting illicit financial networks. The successful seizure sets a precedent for future efforts in combating cryptocurrency-related fraud.