- Tether, Bitfinex agree to pay $18.5M to end the New York probe.
- The companies moved hundreds of millions of dollars to cover up the $850M loss.
- Bitfinex and Tether did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
On Tuesday, New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James says the owner of the Tether and Bitfinex agreed to pay an $18.5 million fine to settle charges.
Tether, Bitfinex Agree to Pay $18.5M to End New York Probe
Tether cryptocurrency and Bitfinex trading platform agreed to pay an $18.5 million fine to settle charges. However, the state’s law enforcement official had been investigating the firms over allegations. Moreover, they moved hundreds of millions of dollars to cover up the apparent loss of $850 million of the commingled client and corporate funds.
We’re ending @bitfinex and @Tether_to‘s virtual currency trading in New York after the companies covered up about $850 million in losses around the globe and deceived the market by overstating reserves.Those trading virtual currencies in New York cannot avoid our laws, period.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) February 23, 2021
James said the settlement with Hong Kong-based iFinex Inc and related entities will likewise expect them to stop trading activity with New Yorkers. More so, he added the redirection broke Tether’s public guarantee to investors. Also, its currency had been backed one-to-one by US dollars, a practice that started in 2017.
James said
“These companies obscured the true risk investors faced.”
Even more, Tether is the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by Marketcap, after Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, its market value is about $34.9 billion on Tuesday, which increased from $2.9 billion when James announced her charges in April 2019.
In addition, Bitfinex and Tether did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. In a statement firms said that they fully repaid back the funds with interest. And never impacted Tether’s ability to process redemptions.
The companies mentioned,
“Contrary to online speculation, after two and half years there was no finding that Tether ever issued tethers without backing, or to manipulate crypto prices.”
Moreover, the two firms still work on recovering the funds lost when Crypto Capital shut down. Nevertheless, the government agencies seized funds in countries such as Poland and Portugal as part of investigations into Crypto Capital. Recently, Bitfinex said it had repaid the remaining balance of a $550 million loan to Tether.
