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by JumpCrisscross 2921 days ago
> From my understanding of how SWIFT works, USA should have logs of every transaction to/from these accounts

SWIFT is a member-owned co-operative headquartered in Belgium [1]. It "does not facilitate funds transfer: rather, it sends payment orders, which must be settled by correspondent accounts that the institutions have with each other."

For example, suppose you bank with Bank H and I bank with Bank J. You send me $100. Bank H will deduct $100 from your account (thereby increasing Bank H's reserves by $100) and send a message, via SWIFT, to Bank J. Bank J will then deduct $100 from Bank H's account with Bank J while simultaneously adding $100 into my account with Bank J.

The U.S. government does have the power to audit banks for a variety of reasons, but beneficial ownership records are ultimately held at the bank level. All that said, I am surprised that a bank handling U.S. dollars is willing to hold these balances given it is difficult to determine who beneficially owns Tethers.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Worldwide_Interban...