- Tether held securities issued by companies such as ICBC and CCB
- The company denies this information
The New York State Attorney General’s Office (NYAG) reports that Tether backed the USDT steblecoin with Chinese securities. The company once accounted for securities issued by Chinese entities China Construction Bank Corp.. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.
According to documents released by NYAG, Tether at one point owned securities issued by large state-owned Chinese companies. Documents listing individual securities do not indicate at what point Tether owned them. However, the securities mature in 2020 or 2021. In addition, Tether also owned securities issued by companies ranging from Deutsche Bank AG to Barclays Bank Plc to ArcelorMittal SA.
In July 2022, Tether said it did not own any Chinese commercial paper at the time. They also said that their total commercial paper has dropped to $3.7 million and that they plan to wipe out those positions entirely within a few months.
The report also describes Tether’s banking relationships, lending and investments through reserve assets as of the end of March 2021. According to the documents, the USDT issuer has made significant loans to third parties, as well as listed accounts opened at several different banks in the Bahamas.
It was recently reported that New York City turned over financial documents on Tether to CoinDesk.