US prosecutors are seeking to seize approximately $61 million in USDT linked to alleged black-market Iranian crude and petroleum sales. The Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint on Sept. 14 covering about 61.2 million USDT held across 10 Tron addresses. Tether had already immobilized the tokens, freezing seven addresses in June 2025 and three more in July. A seizure warrant issued this week authorizes federal agents to transfer the value into government custody. Because Tether controls issuance of the stablecoin (a cryptocurrency designed to maintain stable value), the complaint says the issuer would burn the frozen tokens and create replacements for transfer to an FBI-controlled hardware wallet, without authorities obtaining the original wallets’ private keys. Prosecutors allege the funds were proceeds from Iranian oil sales intended to benefit Iran’s government and military, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The case adds to Tether’s cooperation with US law enforcement. Days earlier, Tether said the Justice Department credited it with assisting in a separate action involving more than $52 million linked to Xinbi Guarantee, an alleged money-laundering marketplace. Tether says it has worked with more than 340 law-enforcement agencies in 67 countries and helped freeze more than $5 billion tied to suspected illicit activity. Prosecutors also described a wider network involving at least seven interconnected addresses, known as Entity A, that allegedly handled more than $1.5 billion in illicit Iranian oil-sale proceeds. The network allegedly sent cryptocurrency to Iran-based exchange Nobitex and Middle Eastern money transmitters investigators believe were IRGC fronts, while Hong Kong-incorporated Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited allegedly converted proceeds into cryptocurrency and moved funds through Binance accounts. Binance is not accused of wrongdoing, and Chief Executive Richard Teng said the exchange has cooperated with authorities and maintains zero tolerance for sanctions violations and illicit activity.