Tether says it had ‘limited’ exposure to bank linked to $84M US seizure
Written by Turner Wrightstaff writerReviewed by Sam Bourgistaff writerUS prosecutors alleged that a payments business illegally transferred hundreds of millions of dollars at the direction of EQIBank, where Tether holds some assets.
Stablecoin issuer Tether said that it had limited exposure through assets held at a bank that reportedly directed a payments company to allegedly move hundreds of millions of dollars on its behalf.
In response to reports linking Tether and Bitfinex to a Montana-based payments business named in a civil forfeiture complaint filed by the Department of Justice, a company spokesperson told Cointelegraph that it had “no knowledge” of any of the alleged conduct. Tether confirmed it was a customer of EQIBank, the bank the Justice Department alleged directed the payments company, Capstone, to send and receive money, but the amount held at the bank represented 0.034% of the group’s total assets.
US prosecutors reportedly froze about $84 million in Capstone’s accounts as part of the complaint. Justice Department officials alleged that the business was unlicensed and had made payments to “hundreds of individuals and entities” on behalf of Tether and Bitfinex, according to the Financial Times.
A Tether spokesperson did not respond to a question about how the seizure could affect its customers. As of Friday, the USDT stablecoin had a market capitalization of about $184 billion.
Related: South Korea police draft crypto seizure rules after custody lapses: Report
