$84.2 Million Seized from Capstone Ltd., Payments Firm Tied to Tether

The US Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint against $84.2 million in accounts tied to Capstone Ltd., a payments firm that allegedly moved money for Tether without a license.

Prosecutors claim that Capstone, which operates as an unlicensed money transmitter in at least six states, presented itself to banks as an ordinary IT services company.

The bulk of the $84.2 million, or $79.11 million, is held in a Wells Fargo Securities account, while smaller sums are found at JPMorgan Chase and in two USDT wallets.

Tether has confirmed that EQIBank, the Dominica-based bank behind Capstone, processed its wire transfers but claimed it had 'no knowledge' of the conduct under investigation and put its exposure at less than 0.034% of group assets.