• Reports from Wall Street Journal suggested Tether was using shell companies to make new bank accounts.
  • WSJ report further claimed that Bitfinex moved over $1 billion into now defunct Crypto Capital, which acted as a shadow bank for Tether.
  • Tether Holdings co-owner Stephen Moore also claimed that he suggested against the potential fraudulent method of opening bank accounts.

The biggest stablecoin issuer Tether fell victim to allegations of potential fraud on Friday following the release of reports from the Wall Street Journal. Tether, soon after, released a statement addressing the allegations calling them inaccurate, misleading and an unfair attack on the company.

WSJ claims fraud

As per the report published on Friday, the Wall Street Journal alleged that Tether was using falsified documents and shell companies in order to access bank accounts.

These claims by the newspaper are based on an email viewed by WSJ belonging to one of Tether Holdings Ltd.'s owners Stephen Moore. The email read,

"[Moore was trying to] circumvent the banking system by providing fake sales invoices and contracts for each deposit and withdrawal. I would not want to argue any of the above in a potential fraud/money laundering case."

According to Moore, the use of false invoices was becoming too risky, and for the same reason, he suggested dropping these methods of opening bank accounts. The report also went on to target the sister company of Tether, which owns Bitfinex.

The cryptocurrency exchange was alleged to have moved over $1 billion into a company known as Crypto Capital Corporation.

The now-defunct company was said to have used shell companies to open bank accounts to transmit money for crypto companies. However, following the allegations of money laundering against Crypto Capital in 2018, the funds it held were seized by authorities, and Bitfinex lost nearly $850 million.

Bitfinex made no comment addressing these allegations at the time of writing, however, Tether certainly did.

Tether says not true

In a statement issued following the report, Tether stated that the allegations made by Wall Street Journal were stale and "wholly inaccurate and misleading". Adding to the same, the statement read,

"Bitfinex and Tether have world-class compliance programs and adhere to applicable Anti-Money Laundering, Know Your Customer, and Counter-Terrorist Financing legal requirements… and routinely and voluntarily assist the United States Department of Justice and other law enforcement organizations across the world in preventing money laundering, terrorism, and other crimes by bad actors."

Tether called its position as the biggest stablecoin in the crypto space as evidence of support from the market and that such unfair attacks would not distract them from their ambitions and responsibilities towards the users.


Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.

If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.

FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.

The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.

Recommended content


Recommended Content

Editors’ Picks

Bitcoin reaches new highs near $90,000, on-chain data show chances of pullback

Bitcoin reaches new highs near $90,000, on-chain data show chances of pullback

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $89,900 on Tuesday before easing to around $86,000, following a 30% surge since November 5. Technical indicators suggest the rally may be overstretched, with a potential corrective pullback ahead. 

More Bitcoin News
GIGA investor loses $6M to phishing scam via fake Zoom link

GIGA investor loses $6M to phishing scam via fake Zoom link

On Monday, a Gigachad (GIGA) investor lost $6.09 million due to a phishing attack involving a fake Zoom link. Crypto investigation firm Scam Sniffer declared the scam that led the victim to a malicious site, compromising their wallet.

More Cryptocurrencies News
Tron, Avalanche and Uniswap: Double-digit gains on the cards, technical indicators show

Tron, Avalanche and Uniswap: Double-digit gains on the cards, technical indicators show

Tron is breaking above an ascending triangle formation on Tuesday, signaling a potential rally continuation. While AVAX and UNI are retesting their crucial support level — if supported, this suggests an upside move — all three altcoins look poised for double-digit gains as the crypto rally continues.

More Cryptocurrencies News
BNB: Bullish technical pattern validated, eyes all-time high

BNB: Bullish technical pattern validated, eyes all-time high

Binance Coin trades slightly down on Tuesday after breaking above an ascending triangle formation on the weekly chart, following a 12.5% rally last week. The technical outlook suggests a bullish breakout pattern and continuation of the rally, with a target set for a new all-time high of $825.

More Binance News
Bitcoin: Further upside likely after hitting new all-time high

Bitcoin: Further upside likely after hitting new all-time high

Bitcoin hit a fresh high of $76,849 on Thursday as crypto-friendly candidate Donald Trump won the US presidential election. Institutional demand returned with the highest single-day inflow on Thursday since the ETFs’ launch in January.

Read full analysis
Best Forex Brokers with Low Spreads

Best Forex Brokers with Low Spreads

VERIFIED Low spreads are crucial for reducing trading costs. Explore top Forex brokers offering competitive spreads and high leverage. Compare options for EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, and Gold.

Read More

BTC

ETH

XRP