Tether CEO Disputes Iran Sanctions Report

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has challenged a sanctions report issued by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal regarding Iran-linked cryptocurrency wallets, according to CryptoNews. Ardoino stated that the stablecoin issuer has frozen flagged addresses an average of four weeks before official designations since 2023.

In an October 19 post, Ardoino responded to Senate Democratic investigators who alleged that 84% of 846 Iran-linked wallets used Tether's USDT exclusively or nearly exclusively. Senator Blumenthal subsequently requested federal investigations into Tether's sanctions and anti-money-laundering practices, directing inquiries to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Timing and Compliance Claims

Ardoino stated that 99% of reported addresses were frozen before analytics firm Chainalysis labeled them. He also attributed a 94% decline in Iran-linked stablecoin volumes to Tether's enforcement actions and law enforcement partnerships. The comparison covered designations by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing.

Senate investigators previously highlighted a specific group of 39 addresses identified by the Israeli bureau in June 2023. According to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report, Tether froze five of those addresses earlier but waited until March 2024 to block the remaining 34, allowing more than $34.6 million in USDT to leave the designated wallets.

Documented Freezes and Legal Inquiries

Tether's recent disclosures cite nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT freezes during 2026. This includes actions in April involving more than $344 million across two addresses that OFAC added to the Central Bank of Iran’s sanctions entry the following day, as well as a July action involving more than $130 million across four wallets.

Blumenthal’s letters requested investigations into potential Bank Secrecy Act and International Emergency Economic Powers Act violations. Meanwhile, a separate federal civil forfeiture complaint filed in September targeted $61.2 million in USDT held across ten TRON addresses that Tether had frozen between June and July 2025.

Key facts

• Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated the company froze flagged addresses an average of four weeks before official designations since 2023.
• Senate investigators reported that 84% of 846 Iran-linked wallets used USDT exclusively or nearly exclusively.
• Senator Richard Blumenthal requested federal investigations into Tether's sanctions and anti-money-laundering practices.
• Tether cited nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT freezes during 2026.