Thai Businessmen Sue Tether Over $42.4M USDT Freeze

Two Thai businessmen have filed a lawsuit against stablecoin giant Tether, challenging its decision to freeze 42.4 million USDT months before U.S. authorities allegedly obtained a formal seizure warrant.

Nutthawat Rukthammachalern and Natthawat Kasamvilas filed the complaint on Aug. 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. They claim Tether blacklisted 10 Ethereum addresses containing 42.4 million USDT on Oct. 30, 2025.

According to the lawsuit, Tether imposed the freeze following an informal request from a U.S. law enforcement agent, while a seizure warrant was not issued until Feb. 19. The businessmen say they obtained the stablecoins through secondary-market business transactions and had no direct relationship with Tether.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to require Tether to remove the addresses from its blacklist. They also want to prevent the company from destroying the frozen USDT and issuing replacement tokens to a government-controlled wallet before a court reaches a final forfeiture decision.

Tether rejected the allegations, describing the lawsuit as “baseless” and arguing that it could interfere with the stablecoin issuer’s cooperation with global law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, to combat illegal USDT activity.

The lawsuit also seeks damages and the return of any interest or other income allegedly generated from reserves backing the frozen USDT. Claims include conversion, trespass to chattels and unjust enrichment.

The disputed funds appear connected to a broader Justice Department investigation involving more than $61 million in USDT allegedly stolen through “pig-butchering” cryptocurrency scams. Prosecutors said victims were directed to fraudulent investment platforms before their assets were transferred through multiple wallets.

U.S. authorities previously credited Tether with helping transfer seized crypto assets, while Tether characterized its involvement as supporting the recovery operation.

However, a court has not yet ruled on either the Thai businessmen’s ownership claims or the U.S. government’s allegations regarding the disputed USDT, leaving the legal status of the $42.4 million unresolved.