Stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen roughly $225 million worth of USDT (USDT) as part of a United States Department of Justice investigation into a Southeast Asian human trafficking syndicate.
In a Nov. 20 announcement, Tether said it had worked with the DOJ and crypto exchange OKX to freeze $225 million worth of USDT in “external self-custodied wallets.” The firm reported the illicit funds had been used by a crime syndicate responsible for a “pig butchering” romance scam — a technique where bad actors attempt to develop an online relationship with unsuspecting individuals, often convincing them to invest in legitimate businesses before conning them.