Bloomberg: Assisting Turkey in freezing $1 billion in assets, Tether is reshaping compliance boundaries

Title: Crypto Giant Tether Aided Turkey in Billion-Dollar Crackdown

Authors: Ryan Weeks, Todd Gillespie, Taylan Bilgic

Source:

Reprinted from Mars Finance

On January 30, Turkish authorities announced the freezing of assets worth over $500 million under Veysel Sahin’s name. Sahin is accused of operating illegal gambling platforms and suspected of money laundering. Istanbul’s chief prosecutor revealed that an unnamed cryptocurrency company executed the freeze at the request of the Turkish government.

This company is Tether Holdings SA, which issues the $185 billion market cap stablecoin USDT. Recently, the company has actively assisted governments worldwide in combating various cryptocurrency-related crimes, including money laundering, drug trafficking, and sanctions evasion.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated in a recent Bloomberg interview: “Law enforcement agencies approached us, provided relevant information, and after verifying the information, we took action in accordance with the laws of the respective country. We follow this process when cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, and other agencies.”

Tether has not commented further on this case. Bloomberg was unable to reach Sahin for comment. A Turkish official also declined to disclose the name of the company mentioned in the prosecutor’s statement.

The €460 million ($544 million) assets frozen are part of a broader law enforcement operation in Turkey, where the total frozen assets involved in the case now exceed $1 billion. According to Turkish TV station NTV, a few days after the Sahin asset freeze was announced, another individual was under investigation for suspected money laundering and illegal gambling, with $500 million worth of crypto assets frozen under their name. It is currently unclear whether this asset freeze involves tokens issued by Tether.

A Turkish official, who wished to remain anonymous and spoke to Bloomberg about sensitive legal matters, revealed that authorities tracked the flow of funds and analyzed crypto assets, uncovering “financial traces” of these suspected illegal earnings. The official also stated that similar asset freezes targeting illegal gambling and payment system personnel will be implemented in the future.

For Tether, this freeze is just one of many increasing asset freezes, highlighting the company’s growing cooperation with global law enforcement agencies.

A report released in January by analytics firm Elliptic shows that by the end of 2025, Tether and its competitor Circle Internet Group Inc. will have blacklisted approximately 5700 wallets holding about $2.5 billion in assets, a figure that was negligible two years ago. At the time of freezing, three-quarters of these wallets held USDT.

Arda Akartuna, head of Asia-Pacific crypto threat intelligence at Elliptic, said: “As the legitimate use of cryptocurrencies accelerates and global payment integration progresses, illegal activities are also increasing. This has prompted stablecoin issuers to intervene more actively.”

Tether often promotes its efforts to combat crime, including in communications aimed at potential investors, where the company seeks to raise funding at a valuation of up to $500 billion. According to its official website, Tether has assisted law enforcement agencies in 62 countries with over 1,800 cases, freezing $3.4 billion worth of USDT related to suspected illegal activities.

Nathan McCauley, co-founder and CEO of Anchorage Digital Bank, a Tether partner, said in an interview: “They (Tether) are very proactive in cooperation, and among stablecoin issuers, the company has a ‘recognized best reputation’ among law enforcement agencies.”

Anchorage is the issuer of Tether’s compliant USD stablecoin USAT, which was launched in late January, marking Tether’s return to the U.S. market.

This represents a significant shift from a few years ago when Tether’s relationship with U.S. regulators was tense. After conflicts with regulators in 2018, Tether largely exited the U.S. market and settled in 2021 by paying $41 million over allegations of misrepresenting reserves.

However, the second Trump administration expressed a welcoming stance toward the crypto industry. Last year, Ardoino and several other executives attended the signing ceremony of the stablecoin regulation bill by President Trump.

Despite this, Tether’s USDT continues to face regulatory scrutiny due to its widespread use by criminals.

On January 9, the U.S. Eastern District of Virginia announced charges against a Venezuelan citizen for laundering $1 billion using USDT. A recent Elliptic report also revealed that the Central Bank of Iran purchased over $500 million worth of USDT to alleviate currency crises and evade U.S. sanctions.

Turkey’s fugitive Sahin is accused of leading an organization that launders money for illegal online gambling platforms. Local media reported that Sahin was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2017, released in 2023, and then sentenced again to 21 years a month later. His whereabouts remain unknown, but Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported on January 30 that “authorities are advancing legal procedures to extradite him back to Turkey.”