The U.S. Treasury Department Sanctions 8 Tron Wallet Addresses Using Tether to Support Houthi Armed Group

On April 3rd, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it has included 8 Tron wallet addresses associated with the Yemeni Houthi armed group on its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. It was accused that they were engaging in illegal financial activities through Tether (USDT). The Treasury Department stated that the network is controlled by Sa'id al-Jamal, a senior financial officer of the Houthis, based in Iran, and is involved in the procurement of Russian weapons, stolen Ukrainian food, and other sensitive goods, which are then transported to Houthi-controlled areas. Sa'id al-Jamal has been designated as a global specially designated terrorist since 2021. These wallets have been active since 2023 and frequently use USDT, with some transaction amounts reaching $1 million. This sanction is based on Executive Order 13324, aiming to freeze the assets of terrorist organizations and prohibit U.S. citizens from conducting transactions with them. Tether has not yet responded to media inquiries regarding whether they were aware of this sanction. As of now, Tether has blocked more than 2,100 addresses involving funds exceeding $1.3 billion.