Federal prosecutors are pursuing the forfeiture of approximately $84.2 million in assets tied to Capstone Limited, a payments company, and EQIBank, a Dominica-licensed financial institution. The government alleges that Capstone misrepresented itself to gain access to the U.S. banking system.
Capstone, which served EQIBank, allegedly obtained American banking access by presenting itself as an information-technology or software company. Prosecutors claim it then processed hundreds of millions of dollars for customers linked to EQIBank without proper licensure for large-scale financial transactions.
Stablecoin issuers Tether and Bitfinex were customers of EQIBank, which reportedly used Capstone as part of its infrastructure for processing U.S. dollar payments. This arrangement reveals a critical structural dependency: fiat transactions initiated by stablecoin users required a chain of institutions capable of handling bank wires and reaching the U.S. financial system.
The forfeiture targets approximately $79.1 million at Wells Fargo Securities, $1.86 million at Wells Fargo Bank and $2.06 million at JPMorgan Chase. The government is also seeking roughly 1.1 million USDT and an unspecified additional USDT balance, totaling about $84.2 million.
Tether disclosed its direct exposure to EQIBank amounts to less than 0.034 percent of its total group assets. The company also said it had no knowledge of Capstone's alleged misconduct. This disclosure suggests the seizure targets the operational machinery behind fiat on- and off-ramps rather than missing stablecoin reserves.
Capstone disputes the allegations. The company identifies itself as a cross-border payments and settlement provider and asserts its registration with FinCEN as a Money Services Business. Its legal counsel said the company cooperated with investigators and intends to challenge the forfeiture action.
No judicial ruling has yet established Capstone's liability. The Department of Justice filed its civil forfeiture complaint on July 15.
The $84.2 million seizure is immaterial to Tether's balance sheet. But court filings showing more than $700 million moved through Capstone accounts illustrate the scale of payment processing activity that EQIBank depended on. For EQIBank, the action carries potentially significant operational implications.
This case exposes the structural dependence of stablecoins on traditional banking infrastructure for dollar integration. Stablecoins can move globally without banks, but their connection to the U.S. dollar system requires multiple contractual layers and third-party intermediaries. This architecture introduces operational risk tied to the compliance and conduct of external partners, even when stablecoin issuers are several steps removed from the accounts actually clearing dollars.
