- This is how he responded to the criticism of John Reed Stark
- At the same time, Ardoino completely ignored the indication of inconsistencies in his words.
On Wednesday, May 10, ex-SEC head John Reed Stark made an open call to the authorities to ban Tether. The politician considers the company a “house of cards”. The organization has commented on these accusations, but seems to have only added to its problems.
To Stark’s post answered Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino. He published extensive material that can be grouped into the following theses:
- Tether is not a US company and is outside the jurisdiction of the SEC;
- the firm conducts a thorough check of all clients, and the methodology meets AML standards at the bank level;
- the organization works closely with law enforcement and assists in fraud investigations.
And all this looks more than worthy, except for this point:
“We automatically and continuously monitor our clients for sanctions violations and adverse media image through World-Check.”
In fact, Ardoino admitted to being spied on, which goes against the core principles of blockchain and DeFi.
One of the users, a self-proclaimed Tether whistleblower with the nickname “Bitfinexed”, indicated to inconsistencies in the words of Ardoino, which, however, is far from happening for the first time:
“How can you say this when you said earlier that in March the average online on the Tether platform was at the level of 1000 users? And if Tether adheres to AML/KYC rules so carefully, why did the company have to use forgery to enter the US market (according to WSJ)?
Bitfinexed also pointed out that Sam Bankman-Fried continues to be a de facto Tether client. And this despite the fact that he is accused of fraud. That is, not only does the company monitor customers, it also does it selectively.
As for the WSJ, the portal has indeed previously published exposé material about Tether. More about this at the link.
One way or another, Ardoino, obviously, once again “sat in a puddle.” At the same time, he managed to simultaneously tarnish the reputation of the company and lose prestige in the eyes of the community.
