US Treasury Warns on Russia USDT Use to Skirt Economic Sanctions

The US Treasury has warned about Russia’s USDT use of illicit activities in its latest report. According to the report, the agency claims that to get around sanctions and keep funding its war machine, Russia is progressively using other payment methods, such as the stablecoin tether.

Russia USDT Use Takes Limelight

In a formal declaration to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, the US Treasury Deputy Secretary asserted that Russia USDT use has been on the rise to circumvent economic sanctions. The report also emphasized the necessity of developing an enforcement framework that can stop this kind of behavior as more rogue governments, international criminal organizations, and terrorists use digital assets.

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USDT Top Choice for Illegal Activities

Russia USDT use is not the only example of the crypto’s involvement in illicit activities. Out of all the stablecoins, Tether has been the most popular choice for illegal activity in the previous year. This occurs against the backdrop of a decline in total illicit cryptocurrency use. Compared to $24.7 billion the year before, $19.3 billion worth of illicit transactions were linked to the USDT token in 2023.

UN Report Echoes Same Message

The report on USDT use in illegal activities was in resonance with a recent UN claim. A recent UN investigation claims that Tether, a significant player in the cryptocurrency space, is increasingly being used by scammers and money launderers in Southeast Asia. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime produced a report that emphasizes the worrying growth in scams, especially the infamous “pig butchering” strategy that involves making false love connections.

While this is happening, criminal networks are taking advantage of Tether’s speed and irreversible transactions to establish a rival financial system as the landscape of digital currencies changes. Notably, the UN had stressed the urgent need for cryptocurrency laws while warning of a supercharged criminal ecology.

Tether’s $500 Mln Bitcoin Mining Investment

The Russia USDT use claims also come at a time when the CEO of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, disclosed that the $500 million plan to invest in Bitcoin mining ventures outlined back in November 2023 is almost about to end. The CEO of Tether highlighted the company’s focus on building renewable energy stations in Latin American nations like Uruguay, Paraguay, and El Salvador in an interview with DL News on the fringes of Paris Blockchain Week.

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