The federal government is investigating cryptocurrency company Tether for possible violations of sanctions and anti-money-laundering rules, according to people familiar with the matter, says WJS.
The criminal investigation, run by prosecutors at the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, is looking at whether the cryptocurrency has been used by third parties to fund illegal activities such as the drug trade, terrorism and hacking—or launder the proceeds generated by them.
Tether, on the other hand, denies the WSJ article stating there is no evidence that the company is under investigation.
The company stated:
It is wildly irresponsible for WSJ to write articles with reckless allegations with such certainty when no authorities have gone on the record to confirm these rumors, and no sources are named. These stories are based on pure rank speculation despite Tether confirming that it has no knowledge of any such investigations into the company.
The article also carelessly glosses over Tether’s well-documented and extensive dealings with law enforcement to crack down on bad actors seeking to misuse tether and other cryptocurrencies.