Two Thai traders sue Tether over freezing $42.4 million in USDT three months in advance.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that two Thai businessmen, Nutthawat Rukthammachalern and Natthawat Kasamvilas, have filed a lawsuit against stablecoin issuer Tether in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Tether blacklisted 42.4178 million USDT. The lawsuit was initially filed on August 31 and refiled the following day. On-chain records show that ten Ethereum addresses were batch-frozen within two and a half minutes on October 30, 2025, while the seizure order cited in the complaint is dated February 19, 2026—more than three months later. The plaintiffs claim they purchased USDT on the secondary market and have no contractual relationship with Tether. The complaint states that, prior to the issuance of the seizure order, Tether acted in response to an informal request from U.S. government agents at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and informed Natthawat Kasamvilas on November 2, 2025, that it had “no further information,” without disclosing that it had already frozen the funds. The lawsuit asserts five claims, including conversion, trespass to chattels, and unjust enrichment, naming Tether Holdings, Tether International, Tether Operations, and Tether Investments as defendants. The case is being heard by Judge Lewis J. Liman. Tether has previously stated that its cooperation with law enforcement has resulted in the freezing of over $4.4 billion in assets, more than $2.1 billion of which is related to U.S. authorities.