# Tether CEO Disputes Senate Iran Findings, Cites Earlier USDT Freezes

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/35270
Published: 2026-10-20T03:34:28.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-20T03:34:28.000Z
Section: Regulation

> Senate investigators found that 84% of 846 wallets transacted exclusively or nearly exclusively in USDT. They cited more than $34.6 million leaving one group after a seizure notice.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino challenged a Senate investigation into Iran-linked wallets on Oct. 19, saying his company froze flagged Tether USD (USDT) addresses an average of four weeks before U.S. and Israeli sanctions designations.

Ardoino’s comparison covers freezes since 2023 and designations by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing. In Ardoino’s tally, Tether acted before Chainalysis labeled the addresses in 99% of cases.

Senate Democratic investigators reviewed 846 wallets sanctioned or targeted for seizure over alleged links to Iran and regional groups between June 2021 and August 2026. They found that 84% transacted exclusively or nearly exclusively in USDT.

In one case, Israel identified 39 wallets linked to Hezbollah in June 2023. The investigators said Tether did not freeze 34 of them until March 2024. The investigators put USDT outflows from those wallets after the notice at more than $34.6 million.

Tether points to an April 2026 freeze of more than $344 million in USDT held at two addresses. It says the freeze came a day before OFAC listed the addresses in connection with Iran’s central bank. Sen. Richard Blumenthal wants Treasury and Justice to examine whether Tether violated sanctions or anti-money-laundering requirements.