Tether responds to account deactivation controversy, raises compliance checks

Tether, the company responsible for issuing the stablecoin USDT, has, at last, addressed certain concerns that have arisen regarding its operational choices.

Based on information revealed in documents released by the New York Attorney General (NYAG), it has been reported that the issuer of the stablecoin deactivated approximately 29 accounts belonging to prominent cryptocurrency players in 2021. It seems that the majority of individuals on the list had their accounts terminated for various reasons.

While the specific reasons for the account terminations were not explicitly disclosed, Tether has responded by indicating that they are unwilling to provide comments on individual relationships. However, they did clarify that all individuals had successfully undergone rigorous compliance checks during the onboarding process and ongoing monitoring, as mandated by Tether's compliance policies.

Among the accounts that were deactivated, notable entities such as MoonPay, BlockFi, CMS Holdings (a crypto investment firm), and Galois Capital (a crypto hedge fund that is no longer operational) were included.

It is worth mentioning that the NYAG investigation concluded as early as February 2021. However, it has come to light that certain documents in the investigation extend until around June of that same year. It should be noted that the user codes within these documents have already been redacted.

The Office of the New York Attorney General gathered these documents during its investigation into Tether and its sister company Bitfinex for the misappropriation of $850 million in funds. During this time, iFinex, the parent company of both entities, requested a 30-day extension to produce the critical financial documents before NYAG a few days before the expiration of the previously scheduled date.

Related: USDT issuer Tether responds to Chinese securities exposure reports

Ultimately, the involved parties reached a settlement in which they agreed to pay a penalty of $18.5 million and halt trading activities in New York. Subsequently, media outlets, including Coinbase, requested the NYAG to publicly disclose their initial quarterly report under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). However, Tether objected to this request, citing the need to safeguard its customers' confidential information from potential exploitation by malicious individuals.

Despite Tether's objection, the NYAG allowed media outlets access to the documents, revealing the deactivation of numerous cryptocurrency company accounts as one of the uncovered matters.

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