Tether's new banking partner ALREADY under fire - accused of accepting illegally laundered funds...

Tether just can't catch a break.  November was one hell of a month for the stablecoin from the creators of the Bitfinex exchange, that had them facing a new wave of accusations, snapping back at their critics, and then we broke the story that the top exchange Binance was actively seeking new Tether alternatives to add to their exchange.

Trying to calm the waters they announced new banking partner Deltec Bank & Trust, to act as an independent holder of the USD funds backing their cryptocurrency, which claims to have $1 in the bank for every 1 Tether token issued.

But today, news coming out of Brazil via the popular "O Globo" newspaper reports that bank is under investigation from Brazilian authorities.

The accusation however doesn't involve Tether, but rather a Brazilian official who is accused of transferring $25 million in laundered funds offshore, to another bank based in Panama, then having it  re-enter Brazil through Deltec Bank & Trust - a transaction that some say should have been immediately flagged.

But here's what all this does call in to question:  Tether's statements earlier this week, stating the high standards the bank has, and how taking Tether on as a client should be seen as a sign that their operation is on the up-and-up.  As Tether said in that statement:

“This included, notably, an analysis of our compliance processes, policies and procedures; a full background check of the shareholders, ultimate beneficiaries and officers of our company; and assessments of our ability to maintain the USD-peg at any moment and our treasury management policies.”

Following this news, Deltec Bank & Trust's endorsement doesn't mean much - and the rumors of Tether not having the funds to back up the $1.7 Billion worth of tokens in circulation continues.

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Author: Ross Davis
E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM
San Francisco News Desk