Authorities in the United States and UK are investigating $20 billion worth of USD-pegged stablecoin tether (USDT) passing through a sanctioned Russian exchange, Bloomberg reports citing people familiar with the matter.
The $20 billion worth of crypto could be the single-largest flouting of sanctions against Russia since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022, according to Bloomberg’s sources. The sources remained anonymous in exchange for leaking non-public information.
The investigation centers around USDT passing through the Moscow-based exchange Garantex. The U.S. and UK sanctioned Garantex in April 2022 for allegedly enabling money laundering, terrorism financing and ransomware attacks.
Both nations hope to tamp down on illicit efforts to support the Russian war against Ukraine through the investigation. However, Bloomberg’s sources note that it’s too early to foresee conclusions or that Tether’s parent company committed any wrongdoing.
Garantex remains one of many entities that U.S. regulators sanctioned in an effort to tamp down on Russian war financing. On March 25, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control penalized 13 entities and two individuals allegedly aiding Russian nationals evade sanctions using cryptocurrency, The Block previously reported.
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