Executives from the stablecoin issuer - Tether - are reportedly facing a criminal probe into bank fraud.
Tether executives are reportedly facing a probe from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), as prosecutors are looking into the company’s past activities with its banking partners.
According to Bloomberg on Monday (July 26, 2021), the information came from three anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The DOJ is investigating whether banks were aware of the crypto-based transactions carried out by Tether.
USDT is the largest stablecoin by market capitalization. The total number of tokens in circulation is worth over $68 billion.
This fact alone carries worrying notes for the cryptocurrency market if the investigation goes through.
Meanwhile, Tether has been in the crosshairs of US regulators for years. After a long legal tussle between the company and the office of the New York Attorney General (NYAG) since April 2019, Tether and cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex reached a settlement deal with the NYAG.
As part of the deal, both companies paid $18.5 million in penalties and also agreed to stop servicing New York customers.
Prior to the settlement, Tether announced that it paid off its remaining loan of $550 million to Bitfinex back in February.
Meanwhile, an audit report by insurance company Moore Cayman confirmed that Tether tokens are fully backed.
Anthonia is a fintech writer who has been involved in the crypto space since 2017 covering developments across regulations, adoption, and several other aspects of the Industry. When not neck-deep in the crypto news cycle, Anthonia spends her free time globetrotting and playing video games.