Justice Department Updating Tether USDT Investigations - What You Need to Know, Below
The US Department of Justice has restructured its investigation into possible bank fraud by Tether executives in the early days of the stablecoin.
The inquiry has reportedly been moved to another DOJ team under the direction of US Attorney Damian Williams of Manhattan in the Southern District of New York, according to a Bloomberg story (SDNY).
Bloomberg reported in July of last year that federal prosecutors in Washington were allegedly looking into whether senior Tether executives misled their banking partners in the early stages of the company's operation by concealing the nature of its cryptocurrency-related transactions.
However, the article stated that "after months of legal fighting, the case has been shifted inside the agency," adding that Williams, who has been one of the most "active" in investigating alleged cryptocurrency crimes, took over the investigation in recent weeks.
Bloomberg reported that it is relatively unusual to transfer an investigation once it has progressed to such a late point, adding that it highlights the murky legal landscape in the quickly evolving world of digital currencies. Bloomberg cited former federal prosecutors in support of this claim.
Robertson Park, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine who formerly spent two decades in the Justice Department's fraud department, reportedly stated that transferring cases "doesn't happen often and there's going to be quite individual, unique circumstances each time."
Tether claims that the report is untrue.
Tether attacked the media outlet in a blog post on Monday, saying that the DOJ investigation into the stablecoin provider is unfounded. The business claimed that although it has been in continual communication with the federal agency, nothing regarding an inquiry has been brought up in "well over a year."
The corporation claimed, "This is Bloomberg repeating old news that isn't even factual." This serves as just another illustration of their poor journalism and inability to distinguish between reality and fiction.
Tether continued, "We've actually been designated as victims in the Fowler case that Bloomberg refers," along with our sibling business Bitfinex. According to the Bloomberg story, authorities started charging Reginald Fowler in 2019 with opening multiple accounts at US banks under the false pretense that they were for real estate investment.
As was previously mentioned, in the beginning of 2021, Tether and Bitfinex paid $18.5 million to settle a nearly two-year-long investigation with the New York Attorney General's Office (AOG) to address claims regarding public disclosures pertaining to a loan Tether made to Bitfinex.
The largest stablecoin in the world by market capitalization is Tether (USDT). The token's market cap as of right now is approximately $69 billion, down from its peak of roughly $84 billion.