Colombian cryptocurrency broker sentenced to 160 months for USDT money laundering

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that Colombian cryptocurrency broker Leonardo de Jesus Zuluaga Duque was sentenced to 160 months in prison for assisting in the laundering of drug trafficking proceeds through Tether's USDT and participating in a scheme to import cocaine into the United States.

Zuluaga Duque, along with five others, assisted in laundering approximately $14.5 million in USDT through a network of cryptocurrency accounts, shell companies, and fund transfers between the U.S. and Colombia from May to November 2023. The court also ordered the forfeiture of $14.75 million and the cryptocurrency held in four addresses under his control.