Investigation Exposes Falsified Documents Behind Tether.bet Curaçao Licence
Tether.bet secured its Curaçao licence with fake documents, including a fabricated £3.75m property sale and £8m net worth claim by owner Hon Kong Yong earning £40k annually. The exposure stems from a CGA systems hack and links to George Cottrell. It revives calls for a UK Gambling Commission probe post-August shutdown.
SCCG Take — Revelations expose material gaps in Curaçao licensing verification that invite stricter UK regulatory scrutiny of offshore operators and their political adjacencies.
An investigation has found that the owner of Tether.bet used falsified documents to obtain a Curaçao gambling licence. The high-stakes platform shut down in August 2026. Fresh scrutiny now surrounds its licensing process and ownership ties.
Hon Kong Yong, a Malaysia-based accountant, submitted a 2020 sale document for a £3.75m Kensington property together with a declared net worth of £8m. His documented annual salary stood at £40,000. The supposed sellers, a retired French couple, told The Times they had never met or heard of Yong.
The documents surfaced after Lilith Wittman hacked into the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) systems. The breach exposed thousands of ownership and business records for Curaçao-licensed operators. Democracy for Sale passed the material to UK media for further verification.
Yong was declared bankrupt in 2016. He owns the Montenegro private members club Salon Privé, where George Cottrell is a regular visitor. Tether.bet itself was headquartered in Montenegro. Allegations surfaced that Cottrell had served as an intermediary for high-stakes UK VIP punters.
Lawyers for Cottrell said:
“Mr Cottrell has no interest in Tether.bet.
Our client has never been a shareholder of any company that owns Tether.bet, whether directly or indirectly, nor for that matter has he been a director, employee or consultant of Tether.bet, held any management or bank account control of Tether.bet, solicited any clients for Tether.bet (in any jurisdiction), or had any involvement in the running of its operations.
His relationship with Tether.bet has been limited to that of a customer, in addition to which he knows and is friends with its owner.”
Credibility Questions for Curaçao Grey Market Licences
The case raises fresh doubts about due diligence standards applied to grey market operators holding Curaçao approvals. As reported by SBC News, the findings compound existing concerns over offshore licensing integrity and document verification.
Potential Trigger for UK Regulatory Probe
Bridget Phillipson, Labour Party Chair, had already pressed for a Gambling Commission investigation after the August 2026 closure. The Tether.bet domain had redirected users to NNVIP88 before becoming inaccessible to UK residents. These disclosures may add weight to that call.
Reporting: SBC News
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
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