US prosecutors seized bank accounts belonging to Capstone, a payments group alleged to have moved hundreds of millions of dollars for crypto companies at the direction of a Caribbean bank associated with Tether, according to FT Companies. The action targets financial infrastructure that prosecutors say supported stablecoin-related operations. A directly connected development reported by Finnhub involves EQIBank, a Dominica-licensed offshore bank linked to the Capstone seizure, with US authorities having seized approximately $89 million connected to that institution through Capstone.
Tether disclosed it holds funds at EQIBank but stated its exposure is limited to less than 0.034% of total assets, equivalent to under $64 million, according to Finnhub. The stablecoin issuer characterised this as limited exposure relative to its overall balance sheet.
USDT, the Tether-issued dollar-denominated stablecoin at the centre of this enforcement action, remained priced near $1 following the disclosures, indicating no reported loss of its peg, according to Finnhub. Bitcoin and Ether, which trade heavily against USDT across major exchanges, are connected to this action through their dependence on USDT as a primary trading and settlement pair within crypto markets.
EQIBank faces possible liquidation according to Finnhub, and the US law enforcement action specifically cites alleged illegal fund transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars linked to the bank. No regulatory statement from Tether's primary oversight authority was reported in the cluster.
Sources: FT Companies, CoinTelegraph, investinglive.com