US federal prosecutors have filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to seize approximately USD 84.2 million in assets held by Capstone Ltd., a company alleged to have served as an intermediary for wire transfers linked to Tether and Bitfinex. The complaint, filed on July 15, names banking institutions including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan as conduits for the disputed funds.
According to the filing, USD 79.11 million of the sum was deposited in a Wells Fargo Securities account. Prosecutors allege that Capstone Ltd. executed transfers on behalf of Tether and Bitfinex, and that EQIBank coordinated the underlying scheme and issued instructions to Capstone.
EQIBank had sought to recover the frozen assets, arguing they represent approximately 80% of its total funds. A federal judge in California has initially rejected that request, leaving the money under government control pending further proceedings.
Tether's response
Tether has stated that its exposure to EQIBank amounts to less than 0.034% of its total assets, a figure the company has used to frame the scale of the dispute as marginal relative to its overall balance sheet.
A history of regulatory friction
The case adds to a record of scrutiny involving Tether and Bitfinex in the United States. In 2021, the two companies reached a settlement with the New York Attorney General, which included an USD 18.5 million fine and restrictions barring them from serving New York customers, without either company admitting wrongdoing. That settlement followed disclosures that Tether reserves had covered an USD 850 million loss at Bitfinex.
The current forfeiture action does not name Tether or Bitfinex as defendants but centres on the corporate structure through which the disputed funds allegedly moved, with Capstone Ltd. and EQIBank at the centre of the government's case. Proceedings over the frozen assets continue, with EQIBank's recovery effort having been set back by the initial ruling in California.
