Two Thai businessmen sued leading stablecoin issuer Tether over its freeze of 42.4 million $USDT, alleging the firm blocked the tokens months before U.S. authorities obtained a seizure warrant.
Nutthawat Rukthammachalern and Natthawat Kasamvilas said in an Aug. 31 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that Tether froze 42.4 million $USDT across 10 Ethereum addresses on Oct. 30, 2025.
They allege Tether acted on an informal request from a U.S. law enforcement agent, with no warrant or other legal process issued until Feb. 19, according to the complaint.
CoinDesk has reached out to Tether for comment but hasn’t heard back at the time of writing.
The plaintiffs said they acquired the $USDT through secondary-market business transactions and had no direct relationship with Tether.
They want the court to order Tether to remove the addresses from its blacklist and prevent it from destroying the frozen tokens and issuing replacements to a government-controlled wallet before a final forfeiture ruling.
The lawsuit also seeks damages and the return of interest or other income Tether earned from reserves backing the frozen $USDT. Its claims include conversion, trespass to chattels and unjust enrichment.
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