Thai businessmen sue Tether over $42.4M USDT freeze
Two Thai businessmen have filed a lawsuit against Tether in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that the company froze approximately $42.4 million worth of their USDT stablecoins without legal justification. The plaintiffs claim they acquired the tokens through secondary-market transactions and had no direct relationship with Tether. According to the lawsuit, Tether acted on an informal request from U.S. law enforcement in October last year—months before a formal seizure warrant was issued—to block access to 10 Ethereum addresses. The frozen assets were later part of a $61 million USDT seizure by federal agents linked to scams and announced in February this year. The plaintiffs are seeking for the addresses to be removed from Tether’s blacklist, damages, and compensation for interest or income earned on reserves backing their frozen tokens. In response, Tether stated that the lawsuit is an attempt to interfere with its cooperation with law enforcement agencies like the Department of Justice. The case highlights ongoing legal challenges around stablecoin regulation and control over digital assets.
Topics: Cryptocurrency Freeze Litigation Stablecoin Tether USDT