{"id":71551,"date":"2026-04-23T13:58:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/tether-freezes-344-million-in-usdt-with-ofac-and-us-law-enforcement\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:58:29","slug":"tether-freezes-344-million-in-usdt-with-ofac-and-us-law-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/tether-freezes-344-million-in-usdt-with-ofac-and-us-law-enforcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Tether Freezes $344 Million in USDT With OFAC and US Law Enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Key Takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tether froze $344 million in <span>USDT<\/span> on April 23, 2026, in coordination with OFAC and U.S. law enforcement.<\/li>\n<li>Tether has supported over 2,300 global cases, freezing $4.4 billion in assets, including $2.1 billion tied to U.S. agencies.<\/li>\n<li>CEO Paolo Ardoino signaled Tether will continue real-time monitoring and direct law enforcement coordination going forward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tether Blocks $344M in <span>Stablecoin<\/span> Funds Linked to Sanctions Evasion and Criminal Networks<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-stablecoins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stablecoin<\/a> issuer <a href=\"https:\/\/tether.io\/news\/tether-supports-freeze-of-more-than-344-million-in-usdt-in-coordination-with-ofac-and-u-s-law-enforcement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> on Thursday that the freeze was executed after investigators identified the wallets and flagged them for sanctions evasion, criminal network activity, or oth<\/span>er illicit use. Tether moved to restrict the assets before the funds could be transferred further.<\/p>\n<p>The action was coordinated with the Office of Foreign Assets Control and multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies. Tether said it follows OFAC guidelines on the Specially Designated Nationals List and holds a zero-tolerance policy on criminal use of its products.<\/p>\n<p>Tether CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/is-tether-antifragile-ceo-paolo-ardoino-thinks-so\/\">Paolo Ardoino<\/a> addressed the action directly. \u201c <a href=\"https:\/\/buy.bitcoin.com\/?utm_source=News\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USDT<\/a> is not a safe haven for illicit activity,\u201d Ardoino said. \u201cWhen <span style=\"font-weight:400\">credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Ardoino pointed to public <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-a-blockchain\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">blockchain<\/a> infrastructure as a core enforcement tool. Transactions can be followed, wallets can be flagged, and assets can be frozen before funds move again. That visibility gives investigators something traditional cash cannot offer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/tether-mints-2-billion-usdt-ethereum-three-days\/\">Tether<\/a> said it currently works with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries. That cooperation has contributed to more than 2,300 cases globally, including over 1,200 connected to U.S. law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>Combined, those cases have resulted in the freezing of more than $4.4 billion in assets, with over $2.1 billion linked directly to U.S. authorities.<\/p>\n<p>The April 23 freeze fits a broader pattern of coordination between Tether and federal investigators. The U.S. Department of Justice pr<span style=\"font-weight:400\">eviously acknowledged Tether\u2019s support in two separate enforcement actions involving pig butchering fraud, which resulted in seizures of nearly $61 million and approximately $225 million, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Tether said its model centers on real-time monitoring and direct coordination with investigators during active cases. The company described that approach as different from platforms that respond only after funds have already been dispersed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Ardoino said platforms that fail to act quickly expose users, erode trust, and allow enforcement to break down. Tether\u2019s response to the April action reflects its stated position that the company bears responsibility as one of the largest <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-are-stablecoins\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stablecoin<\/a> issuers operating in the market.<\/p>\n<p>The freeze adds to a growing record of blockchain-based law enforcement actions carried out with issuer cooperation. Moreover, the news follows the recent <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/certik-analyst-kelpdao-exploit-reveals-high-stakes-shift-in-cross-chain-cybercrime\/\">KelpDAO hack<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/drift-protocol-hack-2026-what-happened-who-lost-money-and-whats-next\/\">Drift Protocol<\/a> breach. Digital assets on public networks have proven traceable and recoverable when issuers and agencies coordinate in real time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/tether-freezes-344-million-in-usdt-with-ofac-and-us-law-enforcement\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways: Tether froze $344 million in USDT on April 23, 2026, in coordination with OFAC and U.S. law enforcement. Tether has supported over 2,300 global cases, freezing $4.4 billion in assets, including $2.1 billion tied to U.S. agencies. CEO Paolo Ardoino signaled Tether will continue real-time monitoring [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":71552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}