{"id":13291,"date":"2026-09-15T23:49:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T23:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13291"},"modified":"2026-09-15T23:49:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T23:49:25","slug":"tether-binance-and-a-1-5-billion-iran-oil-network-converge-in-new-us-forfeiture-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13291","title":{"rendered":"Tether, Binance and a $1.5 billion Iran oil network converge in new US forfeiture case"},"content":{"rendered":"

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US prosecutors are seeking to seize $61 million in Tether\u2019s USDT tied to alleged black-market Iranian oil sales.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 14, the US Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint targeting approximately 61.2 million USDT across 10 Tron addresses. Prosecutors allege the funds came from Iranian crude and petroleum sales intended to benefit the country\u2019s government and military, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).<\/p>\n

The tokens were already immobilized. Tether froze seven of the targeted addresses in June 2025 and another three in July. A seizure warrant issued this week now authorizes federal agents to move the value into government custody.<\/p>\n

Executing that warrant would depend on Tether\u2019s control over USDT. The stablecoin issuer would burn the frozen tokens and issue replacements of the same value for transfer to an FBI-controlled hardware wallet, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

The mechanism gives US authorities a route from identifying sanctioned funds on-chain to taking custody without obtaining the private keys controlling the original wallets. It also extends a growing enforcement relationship between US agencies and the issuer of the world\u2019s largest stablecoin.<\/p>\n

Days before the Iran filing, Tether said the Justice Department credited it with assisting in a separate action involving more than $52 million linked to Xinbi Guarantee, an alleged money-laundering marketplace.<\/p>\n

Tether says it has worked with more than 340 law-enforcement agencies across 67 countries and helped freeze more than $5 billion tied to suspected illicit activity.<\/p>\n

The Xinbi action is unrelated to the Iranian case, but both developments show how issuer-controlled stablecoins can become enforcement chokepoints once authorities identify funds they want restrained.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors trace $1.5 billion oil network through Binance<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, the $61 million seizure represents a fraction of the wider network investigators described.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said a cluster of at least seven interconnected addresses, referred to as \u201cEntity A,\u201d received and distributed more than $1.5 billion in proceeds from alleged illicit Iranian oil sales. The addresses allegedly sent cryptocurrency to Iran-based exchange Nobitex and to Middle Eastern money transmitters investigators believe were IRGC fronts.<\/p>\n