Recovery Successful Following Collaboration with Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police recently showed gratitude to Tether, a Toronto-based leading player in the stablecoin industry, for its timely and comprehensive assistance in a specific cybercrime incident. Thanks to Tether’s intervention, the digital assets of around 10,000 Canadian dollars ($7,186), which had been pilfered from an individual, were recovered and returned to the owner. The recovery was part of an investigation by the OPP’s Cyber Investigations Team, and Detective Staff Sergeant Addison Hunter credited Tether’s proactive assistance: “Tether’s cooperation was instrumental in ensuring the quick recovery of the assets”.
It is representative of the increasingly cooperative relationship between cryptocurrency companies and law enforcement as digital assets become more prevalent in legitimate transactions and cybercrime activities. A case like this illustrates well how such cooperation leads to successful leads, as with timely moves by Tether, the police could speed up the investigation and guarantee the protection of the victim’s assets.
Tether’s Commitment Against Cyber Crimes and Law Enforcement
Following that incident, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino continued to declare war on cybercrime and called for the encouragement of law enforcement agencies worldwide. He added, “Tether plays an important role in helping to protect the digital finance ecosystem and bringing these types of cybercriminals to justice.” According to him, the company has also been swift in response to such hostilities, with the firm supporting victims right across the digital asset landscape-a fact that testifies to Tether’s long-standing commitment to cybersecurity.
The moves by Tether underscore the company’s general strategy of earning trust in the cryptocurrency world and working in concert with law enforcement agencies to try to root out illegal activity. The comments came as the company pushed back on criticism of the firm’s oversight. “Law enforcement, Ardoino said, “Tether will continue to work with law enforcement to hold bad actors accountable and ultimately support the victims.”
Tether Track Record of Supporting Law Enforcement
Tether has a history of engaging with law enforcement agencies against crimes involving cryptocurrency. For example, in July 2020, the company froze $46 million in USDt linked to suspicious activities tracked across 39 Ethereum addresses. In one notable case, Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex joined to freeze over $33 million in funds that were stolen during the 2020 KuCoin hack, wherein hackers stole $200 million from the crypto platform.
In 2022, Tether blacklisted 312 addresses and froze $150 million in funds without publicly disclosing specific reasons for the action-a demonstration of perhaps Tether’s proactive stance against potential security risks.
New Policies Indicate a Higher Level of Security
In December 2023, Tether introduced a policy to freeze wallets connected with persons or entities under sanction by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control. The policy comes in response to pressure from U.S. lawmakers and reflects the increased commitment of Tether to combating illicit financing.
