Senate Democrats’ Preliminary Report Says More Than $34.6 Million Moved Before Tether Froze Identified Iran-Linked Wallets
Tether said it helped freeze approximately $550 million in Iran-linked USDT during 2026, while investigators examined delays involving identified wallets.
More than $34.6 million in Tether USD (USDT) moved through Iran-linked wallets before Tether froze them, while the company said it helped block approximately $550 million in related assets during 2026.
Democratic minority staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a preliminary report Sept. 28 examining 846 cryptocurrency wallets sanctioned or targeted for seizure because of links to Iran and regional proxies. The review found that 84% of the wallets transacted exclusively or nearly exclusively in USDT.
The report examined 39 wallets identified by Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing in June 2023 as linked to Tawfiq Muhammad Sa’id Al-Law. Tether had frozen five wallets, while the remaining 34 were frozen in March 2024. More than $34.6 million moved after the Israeli seizure notice and before the remaining 34 wallets were frozen, the report found.
Tether said it froze more than $344 million across two addresses in April and more than $130 million across four wallets in July. The company said the April addresses were later added by the Office of Foreign Assets Control as digital-currency identifiers for the Central Bank of Iran.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal referred the findings to the Treasury and Justice departments and requested investigations into Tether’s anti-money-laundering and sanctions compliance.
