Tether said on Sept. 11 that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) credited its proactive assistance in a major enforcement action that restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency tied to the Xinbi Guarantee marketplace, according to a statement the stablecoin issuer published. The acknowledgment came as the DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force moved against what authorities describe as a Chinese-language marketplace that allegedly connected scam operators with vendors offering money laundering, fraudulent investment websites and the recruitment of trafficking victims.
A $52 million restraint in a single day
The DOJ said investigators traced funds belonging to U.S. victims to vendors operating through the network, which ran on the Telegram messaging app. As part of the action, authorities seized two cryptocurrency wallets that Xinbi used to collect roughly $12 million in vendor payments and sought the restraint of 47 additional wallets believed to be linked to money laundering. Together, the coordinated actions resulted in more than $52 million in cryptocurrency being restrained, according to the company’s account of the DOJ announcement. The marketplace is among a growing number of platforms that authorities say underpin a global scam economy run partly from compounds in Southeast Asia.
Tether’s role and Ardoino’s response
In announcing the action, the DOJ “specifically thanked” Tether “for its proactive assistance in this investigation,” the company said. “By now, criminal organizations should understand that using digital assets does not put them beyond the reach of the law,” said Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief executive. “Tether has consistently demonstrated that the stablecoin infrastructure can give law enforcement powerful tools to identify, disrupt, and stop illicit financial activity.”
A deepening law-enforcement track record
Tether said it has now collaborated with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 67 countries on over 2,800 cases, helping freeze more than $5 billion in assets linked to illicit activity. Recent cooperation includes support for a roughly $225 million seizure tied to a human trafficking and romance scam syndicate, nearly $61 million connected to an investment fraud scheme, and a coordinated $344 million freeze with U.S. authorities. The company said it will continue working directly with the DOJ, the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service to combat the misuse of USD₮.
