Tether, the prominent stablecoin issuer, has confirmed a significant enforcement action in Turkey, where approximately $544 million (€460 million) in USDT was frozen. This decisive move, announced by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino on February 7, 2026, is linked to an extensive illegal online gambling and money-laundering investigation.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Ardoino emphasized that Tether”s actions were in direct response to intelligence provided by Turkish law enforcement. He reiterated the company”s commitment to operating within local legal frameworks, highlighting its past collaborations with various agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The targeted funds frozen by Tether are reportedly associated with Veysel Sahin, an individual accused of managing multiple unlawful betting platforms that utilized digital assets to obscure the origins of their funds. This freeze is part of a larger enforcement effort in Turkey, where authorities have already seized over $1 billion in assets related to the investigation. This underscores the vast scale of the alleged financial network and the increasing reliance on blockchain analytics to track illicit financial activity.
Tether”s involvement in this case reflects a broader trend of cooperation between stablecoin issuers and regulatory bodies worldwide. To date, the company has been involved in over 1,800 investigations across 62 countries, leading to the freezing of approximately $3.4 billion in USDT linked to suspected criminal activities. Tether”s ability to blacklist addresses at the smart-contract level enables it to respond swiftly to verified legal requests.
The incident highlights the growing intersection between state financial oversight and blockchain technology. As stablecoins increasingly serve as critical settlement layers in global cryptocurrency markets, issuers like Tether are transforming into pivotal intermediaries in cross-border enforcement efforts. This evolution indicates that stablecoin providers are no longer mere infrastructure entities but are becoming active participants in the landscape of global financial regulation.
