• The Wall Street Journal revealed alleged illicit acts of Bitfinex and Tether in 2018.
• New York State Attorney General investigated the firm for offering unregistered securities and giving out loans to investors.
• Bitfinex and Tether attempted to mask their identities with fake companies and individuals to deceive banks, leading to asset seizures and connections to terrorist groups.
Legal Issues with Tether
Tether, which was launched in 2014, has faced several legal issues since then. This includes a ban from operating imposed by the state of New York due to their offering of unregistered securities and giving out loans to investors.
Investigation by The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal investigated the issues surrounding Tether and Bitfinex in 2018, accessing some emails sent back and forth to get banking support. In these emails, it was revealed that the two firms had attempted to mask their identities by using other individuals or fake companies in order to deceive banks.
Consequences of Deception
These attempts led to further issues with regulators such as asset seizures worth millions of dollars as well as connections being made between them and terrorist groups. Stephen Moore, one of the owners of Tether Holdings Ltd., even cautioned an USDT trader attempting to use fake contracts and sales invoices for deceitful purposes about how risky this could be for them.
What is a Stablecoin?
Tether Holding LTD is behind USDT which is a stablecoin worth over $70 billion on the market capitalization among all crypto assets; meaning that each coin must have an equivalent amount of USD backing it up in reserve for every 1 USDT out there must be 1 USD stored in Federal Reserve reserves.. But this was discovered not true when US government found out they were lying about it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Wall Street Journal uncovered information regarding Bitfinex’s and Tether’s attempt at deceiving banks through various means such as creating fake documents or shell companies which led them into trouble with regulators resulting in asset seizures worth millions of dollars as well as connections being made between them and terrorist groups . It is important for crypto organizations like these two firms be aware of regulations before attempting any activities that could put them into risk legally or otherwise.