Tether says EQIBank exposure below 0.034% after U.S. seizure

Tether has confirmed that it holds assets at offshore banking partner EQIBank, while saying the exposure represents less than 0.034% of group assets as the bank contests a major U.S. seizure.

Summary

• Tether says assets held at EQIBank represent less than 0.034% of the group's total assets.
• U.S. prosecutors seek forfeiture of roughly $84.2 million seized from Capstone-linked accounts and cryptocurrency holdings.
• EQIBank says approximately $89 million seized by U.S. authorities represents around 80% of monetary holdings.
• A federal judge denied EQIBank's property-return motion after prosecutors filed a separate civil forfeiture complaint.
• Tether's June attestation reported $187.75 billion in assets and a $4.11 billion excess reserve buffer.

The Information reported that Dominica-licensed EQIBank had provided banking services to Tether, including processing wire transfers connected with purchases and redemptions of USDT. Tether confirmed the relationship in a written response and said it did not know about the conduct U.S. prosecutors have alleged against payment provider Capstone Ltd.

Exclusive: Tether has some funds stuck at one of its offshore banking partners, which is facing liquidation risks after U.S. seizure of assets.

Tether said its assets held at the bank, EQIBank, are limited and represent less than 0.034% of its assets.

Story with... --- Yueqi Yang (@Yueqi_Yang) September 24, 2026

"Tether had no knowledge of the conduct by Capstone alleged by the Department of Justice," a Tether spokesperson told The Information. The company said assets held at EQIBank were limited to "less than 0.034% of the assets of the group." Tether did not disclose the exact dollar amount.

Tether says its EQIBank exposure remains limited

Applying Tether's 0.034% ceiling to its latest published quarterly asset total provides only an upper-bound reference, not a disclosed deposit balance. Tether reported $187.75 billion in assets at June 30, meaning 0.034% of that figure equals roughly $63.8 million. Tether's actual EQIBank exposure could be lower.

The June reserve report placed liabilities at around $183.64 billion and excess reserves at $4.11 billion. USDT issuance stood near $184.6 billion at quarter-end. Tether said its reserves remained concentrated in short-duration and liquid assets, including U.S. Treasury-related holdings and repurchase agreements.

As crypto.news previously reported in its coverage of Tether's second-quarter reserve position, the company generated roughly $1.5 billion in second-quarter operating profit while its excess reserve balance ended June at $4.11 billion. The reported buffer had fallen from $8.23 billion at the end of the first quarter.

The EQIBank issue therefore concerns one banking counterparty inside Tether's asset base. Tether has not published a breakdown showing its total deposits across offshore banks, and the 0.034% statement applies specifically to assets held at EQIBank. No verified disclosure reviewed for this report establishes that other Tether banking relationships face the same seizure or liquidity issue.

U.S. forfeiture case targets about $84.2 million

Court documents provide a more precise picture of the assets U.S. prosecutors are seeking to forfeit. A September 14 federal court order lists approximately $79.11 million seized from a Wells Fargo Securities account held in Capstone's name.

The same filing lists another $1.86 million from a Wells Fargo Bank account and approximately $2.06 million from a JPMorgan Chase account. Prosecutors named another 1.12 million USDT from one cryptocurrency address and 54,578.45 USDT from a second address. Combined at their dollar peg, the listed property totals roughly $84.2 million.

EQIBank has described its claimed loss differently. The bank says U.S. authorities seized approximately $89 million belonging to it through Capstone and that the amount represents around 80% of its monetary holdings. EQIBank has warned in court filings that losing access to the funds could place it at risk of liquidation.

The difference between the bank's roughly $89 million claim and the government's approximately $84.2 million forfeiture property should not be treated as an inconsistency that has already been resolved. EQIBank's property claim and the government's current forfeiture complaint use different figures and arise from separate filings.

EQIBank failed to recover funds through its first motion

EQIBank began its federal challenge on June 29 by seeking the return of property under Rule 41(g) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The government later filed a separate civil forfeiture complaint on July 15 involving the Capstone accounts and cryptocurrency.

During a July 16 hearing, District Judge Dale A. Drozd denied EQIBank's return-of-property motion for lack of equitable jurisdiction after the government filed the civil forfeiture proceeding. The docket does not show that the judge decided whether EQIBank ultimately owns the seized funds or whether prosecutors are entitled to keep them.

The litigation remains active. On September 16, Judge Drozd ordered the original EQIBank matter and the government's forfeiture action assigned to the same district and magistrate judges because the cases are related. The court expressly stated that the reassignment did not consolidate them.

A separate September 14 order requires the government to publish notice of the forfeiture action for 30 consecutive days on the federal forfeiture website. Anyone asserting an interest in the property must follow the claim procedure set out under Supplemental Rule G, after which responses to the complaint can proceed.

EQIBank maintains that it is an innocent owner of the money. In court papers quoted by The Information, the bank said "EQIBank is not a rogue bank" and said the government had not identified it as a target of the investigation. U.S. prosecutors have not adopted EQIBank's characterization, and the forfeiture litigation has not reached a final judgment.

Tether's latest audit provides separate reserve context

Tether completed its first full independent financial statement audit in August, covering the year ended December 31, 2025. KPMG U.S. issued an unqualified opinion on the audited financial statements, according to Tether's August 13 announcement.

Tether said the 2025 audited statements showed reserves exceeding liabilities tied to issued tokens by $6.814 billion at year-end. KPMG examined transactions, asset ownership, valuations, counterparties, internal systems and supporting documentation, while physically inspecting Tether's gold holdings.

As crypto.news reported in its coverage of Tether's first full KPMG audit, the audit covered the company's full 2025 financial statements and differed from quarterly reserve attestations that measure assets and liabilities at a specific date.

The KPMG opinion predates the June 2026 quarter-end figures and does not determine how much money Tether currently holds at EQIBank. Tether's latest public statement on the bank gives only the percentage ceiling, while the federal proceeding concerns funds held through Capstone accounts at Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

The next procedural steps sit in the Eastern District of California forfeiture case. The September publication order gives parties claiming an interest in the seized property up to 60 days after the first day of publication to file claims, followed by a 21-day period to answer the government's complaint or seek relief under Rule 12.