Significant Move Against Financial Crime
In a significant move against financial crime, Tether along with its allies has successfully immobilized assets totaling over $300 million attributed to criminal enterprises. This operation, part of a year-long, transcontinental campaign, was detailed in a press release issued on October 31. The T3 Financial Crime Unit—comprised of Tether, TRON Network, and the analytics firm TRM Labs—has exemplified the collective power of technology and law enforcement in combatting cryptocurrency-related fraud and money laundering.
Achievements and Cooperation
Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, highlighted the achievement, stating, “The T3 Financial Crime Unit has demonstrated that meaningful progress is possible when cooperation between technology companies and law enforcement occurs. By fostering trust across international borders, we aim to enhance the safety and accessibility of the digital economy for everyone.”
This recent milestone showcases the unit’s steadfast cooperation with law enforcement across 23 different jurisdictions and has played a crucial role in Brazil’s significant Operation Lusocoin, which alone led to the freezing of assets exceeding R$3 billion. Among these were 4.3 million USDT, which were directly associated with a criminal group, illustrating the role of stablecoins in major money laundering operations and currency evasion tactics.
Operational Insights
According to Tether, the United States has been the leading theater for their operations, responsible for $83 million in frozen assets across 37 distinct cases. Notably, operations have also seen substantial activity in both Europe and South America, encompassing a diverse variety of criminal activities.
Statistics reveal that the most prevalent type of crime under investigation involves illicit goods and services, comprising 39% of the unit’s total cases. Fraud and hacking incidents, including a notable $19 million seizure linked to the North Korean involvement in a Bybit hack, ranked closely behind.
Future Initiatives
As part of ongoing efforts to address issues of money laundering, investment fraud, and more, Tether and its collaborators intend to deepen their engagement with global agencies such as Europol. To further this initiative, Tether introduced the T3+ Global Collaborator Program in August 2025, which welcomed Binance as its inaugural large partner. This collaborative approach gained momentum during the 9th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptocurrencies in Vienna, which was jointly hosted by Europol and the Basel Institute on Governance. At this event, representatives from TRON DAO, Tether, Binance, and TRM Labs convened with Europol authorities to explore how the T3 framework could serve as a foundational model for future public-private asset seizures.
