US Seeks Forfeiture of $61 Million in Tether USDT Linked to Alleged Iranian Oil Sales

U.S. prosecutors have filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to seize approximately 61.2 million USDT (about $61 million) that they allege were generated from illicit Iranian crude oil sales. The complaint, filed on September 14 by the Southern District of New York, targets ten Tron addresses that were frozen by Tether earlier this year.

How the seizure would be executed

The complaint states that Tether will burn the frozen tokens and issue replacement USDT of equal value for transfer to an FBI‑controlled hardware wallet. This mechanism allows authorities to take custody of the funds without obtaining the private keys of the original wallets.

Broader alleged oil‑funding network

Prosecutors describe a larger network, labeled “Entity A,” that moved more than $1.5 billion in proceeds from alleged Iranian oil sales. The network allegedly used:

• Iran‑based exchange Nobitex and money‑transmitters linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
• Hong Kong‑incorporated entities Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited to convert fiat proceeds into cryptocurrency.
• Trading accounts at Binance to move the crypto assets.
• U.S. correspondent banking channels that transferred $37.15 million and $443.49 million to the front companies.

Binance’s response

Binance is not accused of wrongdoing. The exchange’s CEO, Richard Teng, emphasized that the case does not allege any misconduct by Binance and highlighted the platform’s cooperation with law‑enforcement agencies and its policies to freeze or restrict accounts that pose sanctions or illicit‑finance risks.

Implications for stablecoin enforcement

The case illustrates how issuer‑controlled stablecoins can become enforcement chokepoints. Tether has previously assisted law‑enforcement in other actions, including a separate seizure involving more than $52 million linked to a money‑laundering marketplace.