In a significant move against illicit financial activities, Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDt, has assisted Turkish authorities in seizing cryptocurrency worth approximately $544 million. The funds were linked to an alleged illegal online betting and money-laundering operation.

The action was prompted by a request from Turkish law enforcement, who provided information that led Tether to freeze the funds. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, the company acted in compliance with the laws of the country after reviewing the provided information. He stated that Tether cooperates with law enforcement agencies globally, including the DOJ and FBI, when presented with credible evidence of illicit activity.

The investigation, which led to the asset seizure, targeted underground gambling and payment networks within Turkey. Turkish authorities had already seized over $1 billion in assets through related probes. Last week, Istanbul prosecutors reported the seizure of roughly €460 million ($544 million) in assets connected to Veysel Sahin, who is accused of running illegal betting platforms and laundering the associated proceeds. While officials initially kept the crypto firm's identity confidential, Tether later confirmed its involvement.

This collaboration underscores the increasing role of stablecoin issuers in combating financial crime. By late 2025, Tether and Circle had blacklisted around 5,700 wallets containing approximately $2.5 billion, according to data from Elliptic, a blockchain analytics firm. USDT was held by approximately three-quarters of those addresses at the time of their freezing. Tether has also revealed its assistance in over 1,800 investigations across 62 countries, resulting in the freezing of $3.4 billion in USDT linked to alleged criminal activity.

Despite these efforts, USDt continues to face scrutiny. Recently, U.S. prosecutors charged a Venezuelan national with laundering $1 billion, largely through the use of the token. Furthermore, blockchain researchers have identified links between large USDt transactions and sanctions evasion. In the past year, Bitrace reported that $649 billion in stablecoins, representing approximately 5.14% of the total stablecoin transaction volume, were associated with illicit activities.

This recent action in Turkey highlights the ongoing tension between the use of stablecoins for legitimate purposes and their potential exploitation by criminals. While Tether's cooperation with law enforcement demonstrates a commitment to combating illicit activities, the continued scrutiny and association with money laundering and sanctions evasion suggest that further measures may be necessary to ensure the integrity of the stablecoin ecosystem.