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Urgent developments
Nothing reported yet
Urgent news about Deltec will appear here once it is publicly reported, with the source linked.
Case file № DLT-1946Nassau, Bahamas
Public record
The Deltec File
Deltec Bank & Trust is a small private bank in the Bahamas that became banker to Tether, FTX and Alameda. Here is what has been reported, with every item linked to its source.
- Entries
- 07
- Documented
- 06
- Allegations
- 01
News reports
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- Nov 2018/ Deltec Bank & TrustDocumented
The $1.8 billion letter with no name on it
Tether published a Deltec letter saying its account held over $1.8 billion, enough to back every USDT in circulation. The letter carried a prominent disclaimer, an unreadable signature and no named employee. Deltec at first would not confirm the relationship, until chairman Jean Chalopin later called the letter "authentic."
- Oct 2021/ Deltec Bank & TrustDocumented
Banker to the $69 billion question mark
A Bloomberg Businessweek investigation into where Tether's reserves actually sit put a spotlight on Deltec, Tether's main bank. It also noted that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had called top regulators together to discuss the risk Tether posed.
- Late 2021/ Deltec / FTXDocumented
A $50 million FTX loan, routed through an executive's company
Forbes reported that FTX quietly channeled a $50 million loan to Deltec through a company tied to one of its executives. Forbes said it was one of several deals struck with Chalopin as Deltec became the go-to bank for crypto firms.
- Mar 2022/ Moonstone / Farmington (Chalopin)Documented
A 150-person farm town's bank gets $11.5M from Alameda
Farmington State Bank, a tiny Washington lender bought in 2020 by FBH Corp (owned by Deltec's chairman Chalopin), received an $11.5 million investment from Alameda Research, Sam Bankman-Fried's trading firm. It then renamed itself Moonstone Bank and moved into crypto. Moonstone says Chalopin pursued the bank on his own, separately from Deltec.
- Early 2023/ Moonstone / Farmington (Chalopin)Documented
Prosecutors seize $50 million
As part of the Sam Bankman-Fried investigation, federal prosecutors seized about $50 million from Farmington State Bank. The bank later dropped crypto and its Moonstone name and sold its assets to Bank of Eastern Oregon.
- Aug 2023/ Moonstone / Farmington (Chalopin)Documented
The Federal Reserve issues a cease-and-desist order
The Fed and Washington regulators found that Chalopin's Farmington bank changed its business plan without approval, including a deal to help a third party issue stablecoins for 50% of the fees. The order made the bank wind down in a way that protected depositors. By February 2024 it no longer operated as a bank.
- Feb 2024/ Deltec Bank & TrustAllegation
Accused of giving SBF "secret" credit to buy Tether
A filing in a class-action lawsuit, based on messages from former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, claims Deltec gave Alameda a short-term credit line to buy Tether. It also claims Deltec moved incoming FTX customer deposits into Alameda's account by hand and fell short on anti-money-laundering checks. These are claims in a lawsuit and have not been proven in court.