The company behind USDT has voluntarily frozen more than $200 million worth of stablecoins to help the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
In a new announcement, Tether says it has frozen $225 million in USDT funds in certain Southeast Asian wallets allegedly linked to ‘pig slaughterhouse’ romance fraud.
In pig slaughter, bad actors form a relationship with a victim online to gain their trust and convince the victim to invest in cryptocurrency platforms that the scammers control. Once the victim has invested a significant amount of money, the scammer disappears with the money.
The fraudsters call their victims ‘pigs’ because they use elaborate storylines to ‘fatten’ the victim into believing that they have a close relationship.
According to the announcement, Tether and OKX are assisting the DOJ by freezing funds from wallets associated with an international human trafficking syndicate behind the alleged scam.
Says Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether,
“Our recent assistance to the Department of Justice underscores our commitment to promoting a safe environment. We believe in leveraging technology and relationships, such as our partnership with OKX, to proactively address illegal activity and maintain the highest standards of integrity in the industry.”
According to the announcement, all frozen funds were in external, self-custodial wallets.
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Featured image: Shutterstock/FullRix/Andy Chipus
