Thai Businessmen Sue Tether Over 1.4 Billion Baht USDT Freeze

MGR Online•Economy•8d ago

Reader Briefing

Two Thai businessmen have filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Tether for freezing 42.4 million USD worth of USDT across 10 digital wallets without a court order.

•Nattawat Rakthamcharoen and Nattawat Kasemvilas sued Tether in New York on August 31, 2026.
•The lawsuit claims Tether froze USDT worth approximately 1.4 billion Baht based on informal requests from government officials.
•The plaintiffs allege Tether committed conversion and trespass to chattels, seeking the return of assets and interest earned from reserves.
•Tether denies the allegations, stating the lawsuit lacks merit and obstructs anti-money laundering efforts.

Overview

•Nattawat Rakthamcharoen and Nattawat Kasemvilas discovered they could not transfer funds from their crypto wallets on October 30, 2025.
•Tether responded on November 2, 2025, directing the plaintiffs to coordinate with Homeland Security Investigations.
•Tether used the addBlackList command in the smart contract to freeze 10 wallet addresses before a formal court order was issued on February 19, 2026.
•The freeze is linked to a US Department of Justice operation against "Pig-butchering" scams totaling over 61 million USD.
•Nattawat Rakthamcharoen and Nattawat Kasemvilas argue the assets were acquired in good faith as purchasers for value in the secondary market.
•The frozen assets are valued at 42.4 million USD, which is approximately 1.4 billion Baht.
•The loss of liquidity caused severe impact on the commercial stability and business opportunities of Nattawat Rakthamcharoen and Nattawat Kasemvilas.
•Tether claims the lawsuit is baseless and interferes with law enforcement cooperation.

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Key Entities

Person

Nattawat Rakthamcharoen(ณัฐวัฒน์ รักธรรมเจริญ)

A Thai businessman and plaintiff who sued Tether over the freezing of USDT assets.

Nattawat Kasemvilas(ณัฐวัฒน์ เกษมวิลาส)

A Thai businessman and plaintiff who sued Tether over the freezing of USDT assets.

Organization

Tether(เทเธอร์)ℹ️

The issuer of the USDT stablecoin and the defendant in the lawsuit for freezing assets without a court order.

Southern District of New York(ศาลเขตใต้แห่งนิวยอร์ก)ℹ️

The court where the lawsuit against Tether was filed on August 31, 2026.

Homeland Security Investigations(หน่วยงานสืบสวนเพื่อความมั่นคงแห่งมาตุภูมิ)ℹ️

The agency (HSI) that Tether directed the plaintiffs to coordinate with regarding the frozen assets.

US Department of Justice(กระทรวงยุติธรรมสหรัฐฯ)ℹ️

The government body conducting a global cybercrime crackdown on "Pig-butchering" scams.

Law

Uniform Commercial Code(ประมวลกฎหมายพาณิชย์ของนิวยอร์ก)ℹ️

The New York commercial law, specifically UCC Article 12, used by the plaintiffs to argue that USDT is a Controllable Electronic Record.