Tether has frozen $213 million in USDT belonging to Gurhan Kiziloz
Tether has frozen over $213 million in USDT linked to businessman Gurhan Kiziloz due to an investigation in Brazil into possible tax evasion. The decision was made at the request of law enforcement officials who are investigating the activities of his gambling platforms and crypto projects, according to Russian media reports.
The crypto market has received yet another signal that big money on the blockchain does not always remain untouchable, as Tether has frozen over $213 million in USDT linked to businessman Gurhan Kiziloz amid a large-scale investigation in Brazil into possible tax evasion and online gambling activities. The case is being investigated as part of an audit of his companies’ operations over several years, and not only business structures but also personal crypto wallets have come under scrutiny.
According to the investigation, the activities in question took place between 2021 and 2024, during which time Kiziloz and his associated entities are suspected of potential tax evasion related to the operation of online gambling services, as well as unregistered initial token offerings. The businessman himself has not yet faced criminal charges, and the case is being handled in the civil-tax sphere; however, the freezing of stablecoins has already affected 48 crypto wallets linked to his name and companies.
Tether itself has not commented on the details, but it is known that the freeze occurred following an official request from Brazilian authorities investigating financial flows in the online gambling sector. Kiziloz’s lawyers are attempting to challenge the regulators’ actions, arguing that the business was operating prior to the full implementation of market regulation in 2024, and therefore the rules cannot be applied retroactively.
Gurhan Kiziloz is an entrepreneur of Turkish origin who is actively operating in the Latin American market and is associated with the gambling platform Megaposta. According to market data, his business group, Nexus International, reported revenue of approximately $1.2 billion last year, making it one of the industry’s major players. Separately, his name has already appeared in scandalous publications, particularly due to claims by the British financial regulator regarding the entrepreneur’s previous fintech projects and media mentions of his involvement in a number of controversial crypto initiatives.
Tether, in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), is launching a joint initiative to protect cryptocurrency users in Africa from the growing threat of crypto fraud.
