Tron’s T3 unit has seized $100M in illicit USDT in just four months

The T3 Financial Crime Unit, started by Tron blockchain, stablecoin issuer Tether, and blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs in September, has frozen $100 million in illegal USDT.

Of the $100 million locked assets, $3 million is tied to North Korea’s illegal activities.

T3 has frozen $3M from North Korea

The task force T3 Financial Crime Unit was formed in September to fight illicit activity involving Tether’s USDT. TRM Labs, Tether, and Tron Blockchain partnered up to form the crime unit. 

After its launch, Justin Sun, Tron’s founder, even remarked:

“TRON originated with the belief that technology can be used for good and to empower people across the globe. By collaborating with TRM Labs and Tether, TRON is helping to ensure that blockchain technology is used to make our world a better place and sends a clear message that illicit activity is not welcome in our industry.”

~ Justin Sun

The new unit now utilizes TRM Labs blockchain intelligence and monitoring tools to help Tron and Tether identify and freeze USDT linked to illicit activities. Within the first few days of its establishment, the unit had already locked up $12 million in USDT related to blackmail scams and investment fraud.

Now, after analyzing over $3 billion in transaction volume across five continents, the unit has seized over $100 million in illicit assets. $3 million of the total frozen assets is connected to North Korea’s criminal transactions.

Chris Janczewski, head of global investigations at TRM Labs, claimed money laundering was the largest source of frozen funds. He also stated that the crime unit primarily focused on investment scams, drug trafficking, terrorism funding, blackmail schemes, hacking activities, exploits, and violent crimes tied to illicit assets.

Janczewski added that the blockchain is a “bad place” for laundering money as its public ledger helps verify victim reports and trace other affected persons, unlike in conventional financial systems. He hopes T3’s discoveries will assist victims in reclaiming their funds and deter criminals from exploiting blockchains like Tron for illegal activities.

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