US senators warn of countries using Tether to circumvent sanctions

Senators
sent
letters
to
several
departments
about
Russia,
Iran,
and
North
Korea
possibly
using
Tether’s
stablecoin
to
avoid
U.S.
sanctions.

As
The
Wall
Street
Journal
(WSJ)
reports,
citing
official
documents,
Senators
Elizabeth
Warren
and
Roger
Marshall
asked
the
Biden
administration
several
clarifying
questions
related
to
Russia,
Iran,
and
North
Korea’s
possible
use
of
the
USDT
stablecoin.

According
to
the
document,
the
stablecoin

USDT,
backed
by
the
U.S.
dollar,
allowed
Russian
companies
to
bypass
sanctions
and
purchase
components
for
drones
and
other
equipment
abroad.

Because
of
this
development,
senators
asked
whether
the
Department
of
Defense
and
the
Joe
Biden
administration
support
the
Treasury
Department’s
request
for
new
powers.

Earlier
in
April,
Deputy
Treasury
Secretary
Wally
Adeyemo

said
the
active
use
of
cryptocurrencies
by
Hamas,
North
Korea,
and
the
Russian
military-industrial
complex
led
to
Congress
needing
to
approve
new
powers.

Tether
has
repeatedly

stated
that
it
is
cooperating
with
U.S.
authorities
and,
if
necessary,
is
ready
to
freeze
wallets
linked
to
organizations
using
the
stablecoin
to
circumvent

sanctions.

In
late
April,
Tether
officials
promised
to
block
addresses
sanctioned
by
the
Office
of
Foreign
Assets
Control
(OFAC). The
news
came
to
light after
the
media
reported
that
Venezuela’s
state
oil
company
is
using
the
USDT
stablecoin
to
circumvent
U.S.
restrictions.