Tether Executives Have Criminal Connections: Report

Key Points:

• Tether faces allegations of ties to questionable activities, including unfulfilled audit promises and transfers of USDT tokens.
• No U.S. law enforcement charges have been filed, with Tether maintaining these connections don’t implicate the company or USDT.

Recent investigations have uncovered a series of alleged connections between Tether, a prominent cryptocurrency company, and various questionable activities, according to a Protos report.

One recurring concern surrounds the company’s unfulfilled promises to subject its reserves to professional audits. Despite repeated commitments, these audits have never materialized. Additionally, the company transferred a significant amount of 36.6 billion USDT tokens to Alameda Research, a firm led by a founder currently incarcerated. Furthermore, Bitfinex founder Raphael Nicolle defended a Ponzi scheme operated by Trendon Shavers.

More concerning still is the revelation that Tether co-founder Brock Pierce once resided in a residence reportedly linked to child pornography. Moreover, allegations have arisen linking numerous Tether executives to organized crime. Chief Financial Officer Giancarlo Devasini, for instance, was reported to have conducted transactions with Gennaro ‘Reno’ Platone, who was convicted of ‘missing trader fraud’ and connected to organized crime.

Devasini’s network extends to individuals like Daniele Sestagalli and Paolo Barrai, who are associated with individuals involved in money laundering for organized crime through offshore companies. Devasini himself faced legal issues in 1996 for selling counterfeit Microsoft software.

Importantly, no U.S. law enforcement agency has, as of now, filed charges against Tether or its current executives. Nevertheless, these revelations have raised concerns and cast shadows over the company’s history.

Bloomberg also reported that the company used to back its USDT stablecoin, the biggest in the world, with assets issued by Chinese firms. The stablecoin issuer has been the subject of rumors for years that it had exposure to Chinese commercial paper.

According to a Bloomberg study, the company’s reserves included many large loans to the cryptocurrency platform Celsius Network as well as billions of dollars in short-term loans to Chinese businesses.

Tether executives strongly deny any involvement in organized crime and emphasize that these associations do not implicate the company, but rather concern the personal dealings of individuals in unrelated contexts. The cryptocurrency industry continues to scrutinize and debate these controversial connections.

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