US Seizes $84.2M From Tether-Linked Capstone and EQIBank

What happened: The US Department of Justice seized $84.2 million from Capstone Ltd., a Sacramento-based payments firm, and EQIBank, a Caribbean bank with ties to Tether. The funds, seized from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, and USDT wallets, are alleged to be proceeds from unlicensed money transmission and cyber-fraud schemes, including laundering by groups posing as FBI agents. Tether stated it had no knowledge of Capstone’s activities and that its exposure to EQIBank is less than 0.034% of group assets. EQIBank claims the freeze affected 80% of its funds.

Why it matters: The case underscores ongoing regulatory scrutiny of crypto-adjacent financial institutions and their role in facilitating illicit flows. While Tether and EQIBank downplay the impact, the scale of the seizure and the DOJ’s focus on money laundering signal heightened enforcement. The lack of criminal indictments—so far—suggests authorities are using civil forfeiture as a tool to disrupt suspect networks before formal charges. Source: Decrypt, PYMNTS, Unchained