Tether And Bitfinex Used Fake Documents, Shell Companies To Get Banking Access: WSJ Report

Since the earliest days of the cryptocurrency industry, Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin by market share, USDT, has been shrouded with controversies and numerous accusations. What comes as the latest blow to the growing stablecoin maker, a report by WSJ states that the company leveraged falsified documents and shell companies to gain banking access at a time when they were facing difficulty to access the global banking system.
Tether’s Illicit Activities
Both Tether, which manages the $71 billion stablecoin, and its sister business Bitfinex, which is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, found themselves in a vulnerable position in 2018, when they lost access to the traditional banking system. This presented what could be described as an “existential threat” to their company.
Read More: Check Out The Top 10 DeFi Lending Platforms Of 2023
According to the report, a cache of emails and files that were reviewed by the WSJ, reveals that an ongoing effort was made to remain connected to the banking system. The corporations behind USDT frequently masked their true identities by operating under the guise of other companies or individuals. However, the usage of third parties resulted in a few hiccups, including the seizure of assets worth millions of dollars and connections to a group that was officially recognized for indulging in terrorism.
Emails Show Major Foul Play
Among the various emails observed by the journal, one of them was by Stephen Moore, a part-owner of Tether Holdings Ltd. The email stated that a major USDT trader in China was trying to “circumvent the banking system by providing fake sales invoices and contracts for each deposit and withdrawal”. Moore further went on to add that they should stop trying to open accounts as it became too risky to continue using the phony sales invoices and contracts, that he had signed.
Moore was quoted as saying:
I would not want to argue any of the above in a potential fraud/money laundering case.
Both Tether and Bitfinex have been under serious investigation several times and back in 2021, they even settled a case with the New York Attorney General — where they were subjected to abide by routined reporting of funds and financial dealings.
As things currently stand, USDT’s price remains pegged to its one-dollar value at a $71 billion market cap.
Also Read: Bitcoin (BTC) Price May Not Be Affected By Mt. Gox Repayments After All; Here’s Why
- Expert Explains Pi Network–Sign Meeting, Says It Could Trigger Binance Listing
- Is Trump Family, Mr. Beast Buying ASTER Token? Rumors Gain Strength
- Solana ETF Update: Grayscale, Fidelity, Others Files S-1 With Staking, Approval Expected in Two Weeks
- Cyber Hornet Seeks SEC Nod for S&P 500 and XRP ETF
- Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest Eyes Stake in Tether as USDT Issuer Targets $500B Valuation
- Solana Price Set for Q4 Surge as Canary Capital ETF Filing Meets Wyckoff Accumulation
- Avalanche Price Could Surge to $50 as Transactions Jump 200%
- CHMPZ Price Prediction:Will This Net-Zero Community Token be the Next Gem?
- Ethereum (ETH) Price Set for a rebound as Whales Accumulate $1.6B ETH and Outflows Hit $622M
- HYPE Price Prediction As Bitwise Files For Hyperliquid ETF – Is $55 In Sight?
- Shiba Inu Price Eyes Recovery From Demand Zone With Burn Rate Soaring Nearly 400%