Tether claims $550 million in Iran freezes, but $35 million slipped past Senate

Tether says it helped freeze nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT during 2026, while Democratic investigators on a Senate subcommittee allege that delays in blacklisting some identified wallets let tens of millions of dollars keep moving.A preliminary report released Sept. 28 by Democratic minority staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations analyzed 846 crypto wallets that US or Israeli authorities had sanctioned or targeted for seizure over their associations with Iran and regional groups. The report said 84% transacted exclusively or nearly exclusively in USDT.Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat and ranking member of the subcommittee, referred the findings to the Treasury and Justice departments and asked them to investigate Tether's anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance.The referrals do not establish that Tether violated federal law or that either department has opened a new case.Tether published its own statement the same day, saying actions involving USDT had resulted in approximately $550 million being frozen across wallets that US authorities identified as connected to Iran's central bank and Iranian sanctions networks.The money th...