According to BlockBeats, on April 3rd, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department announced that it has added 8 Tron wallet addresses associated with the Houthi armed forces in Yemen to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list, accusing them of participating in illegal financial activities through Tether (USDT). The Ministry of Finance stated that the network is controlled by Sa'id al Jamal, a senior finance official of the Houthis based in Iran, and involves the procurement of sensitive goods such as Russian weapons and stolen Ukrainian food, 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, frequently using USDT, with some transactions amounting to $1 million. This sanction is based on Presidential Executive Order 13324, aimed at freezing the assets of terrorist organizations and prohibiting US citizens from engaging in transactions with them.
Tether officials have not yet responded to media comments on whether they are aware of the sanctions. As of now, Tether has blocked over 2100 addresses involving more than $1.3 billion in funds.
