WSJ Faces Lawsuit Over Allegations Against Tether and Bitfinex

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) finds itself entangled in a defamation lawsuit following allegations made in a 2023 article that implicated crypto firms Tether and Bitfinex in illegal activities. 

Christopher Harborne and his company AML Global Ltd have taken legal action against Dow Jones & Company, the parent entity of the WSJ, as reported by investigative platform OffshoreAlert.

As reported earlier by TheCoinRise, the WSJ also faced criticism from the digital asset community for inaccurately portraying the degree to which Hamas and other militant groups’ are using cryptocurrencies for financing their terrorist operations.

WSJ Makes Significant Mistakes

Harborne, a shareholder in Tether with nearly 13% ownership, claims his stake resulted from Bitfinex’s reimbursement plan after a 2016 hack, asserting he holds no executive positions within the company. 

The lawsuit, filed in Delaware Superior Court on February 28, accuses Dow Jones & Company of publishing a false article that accused Harborne and AMLF of fraud, money laundering, and financing terrorism, despite having evidence proving these allegations false.

WSJ Published Incorrect Information

The contentious WSJ article, published in February 2023, detailed the purported struggles of companies associated with Bitfinex to maintain access to the global banking system in late 2018. It claimed that these entities resorted to utilizing “shadowy intermediaries, falsified documents, and shell companies” to regain access. 

Harborne, described as a dual British and Thai citizen, businessman, and technology investor, became a focal point in at least five paragraphs regarding AML Global’s application for a Signature Bank account.

Dismissing the Article

However, a recent development revealed that the controversial content related to Harborne and AML Global’s application has been removed from the article since February 21, 2024, accompanied by an editor’s note. The lawsuit alleges that, despite possessing documentation proving the accusations false, the WSJ and its reporters proceeded with the publication.

In response to the original article in 2023, Tether’s Paolo Ardonio dismissed it as a “clown article,” predicting it would only bolster the company’s growth. 

Tether’s stablecoin USDT experienced remarkable growth in 2023, gaining over $20 billion in market value amidst concerns about contagion effects among its competitors from the United States financial system. 

Interestingly, the stablecoin issuer was also a target of a report by the United Nations, which stated that USDT was a major means of fraud and used by terrorist groups as well. The firm fired back at the UN, adding that it was “disappointed in the UN’s assessment.”