A crack in the USDT plumbing. American justice is seeking to confiscate approximately $84.2 million held in accounts and wallets linked to Capstone Limited. According to federal prosecutors, this payment company allegedly allowed EQIBank, a digital bank licensed in Dominica, to move hundreds of millions of dollars for Tether and Bitfinex through American banking rails.
Neither the USDT issuer nor the exchange platform are directly prosecuted in this procedure. The case targets Capstone's assets and the banking circuit used to move the funds.
Key Points
US authorities are targeting approximately $84.2 million held in accounts linked to Capstone and two USDT wallets
Capstone allegedly processed hundreds of millions of dollars on instructions from EQIBank without having the necessary approvals
EQIBank says seizures reach around $89 million, or nearly 80% of its monetary assets
Tether assesses its exposure to EQIBank at less than 0.034% of its total assets
Tether and Bitfinex: $84.2 million seized from Capstone
The order from the California federal court read by the FT teams details the assets concerned: $79.11 million in a Wells Fargo Securities account, $1.86 million at Wells Fargo Bank and $2.06 million at JPMorgan Chase. Two wallets containing around 1.18 million USDT complete the list. The total represents approximately $84.2 million.
The government uses a civil forfeiture procedure. Unlike a criminal prosecution, it targets property suspected of being linked to an offense and does not require the prior conviction of its owner. Capstone and EQIBank can nevertheless challenge the seizure in court.
According to the complaint, Capstone served as an intermediary between EQIBank and American banks. The company allegedly executed transfers on behalf of Tether and Bitfinex while presenting financial institutions with a less risky activity than that actually carried out. Prosecutors thus suspect a money transmission activity without the necessary registrations and licenses.
At this stage, these elements remain allegations. No criminal charges against Capstone, EQIBank, Tether or Bitfinex accompany this procedure. A judge, however, rejected the request filed separately by EQIBank to obtain the immediate return of the funds: the bank will have to defend its rights in the confiscation case.
EQIBank weakened, but limited exposure for Tether
EQIBank advances a slightly different amount. The bank estimates that nearly $89 million, or approximately 80% of its monetary assets, have been seized and warns that permanent confiscation could threaten its continued activity. This estimate does not correspond exactly to the 84.2 million recorded in the order, probably because the two parties do not use the same perimeter.
Tether acknowledges holding assets with EQIBank, but says this exposure represents less than 0.034% of its total assets. The company did not provide a specific amount. This proportion therefore makes a direct material effect on USDT reserves unlikely, even if the funds remain blocked.
The affair nevertheless recalls the former banking difficulties of Tether and Bitfinex. In 2018, Bitfinex lost access to approximately $850 million entrusted to processor Crypto Capital. This crisis led to transfers between Bitfinex and Tether reserves, then to an $18.5 million settlement with the New York Attorney General in 2021. The same year, the CFTC fined Tether $41 million for misleading statements about the historical composition of its reserves.
