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    "headline": "Thai Men Sue Tether Over Unauthorized Stablecoin Freeze",
    "dek": "Thai businessmen sued Tether alleging improper freezing of 42.4 million USDT stablecoins.",
    "prose": "Thai businessmen Nutthawat Rukthammachalern and Natthawat Kasamvilas filed a lawsuit in federal court against Tether on August 31, 2026, alleging the company improperly froze 42.4 million USDT stablecoins. [^1]\n\nThe plaintiffs claimed in the complaint that Tether blacklisted the ten Ethereum addresses in October at the informal request of a Homeland Security Investigations agent, without a warrant or court order. [^2]\n\nThe lawsuit alleges that Tether has the technological capability to block owners of USDT on any blockchain anywhere in the world from transferring or accessing their USDT and/or to destroy or to 'burn' the USDT at the push of a button. [^3]\n\nThe plaintiffs alleged that Tether blocked the tokens in October 2025 based on an informal law enforcement request, although no warrants or other legal processes were issued until February 2026. [^4]\n\nMore than three months after the blacklisting, a federal magistrate judge in North Carolina issued a seizure warrant outlining a plan for Tether to burn the restricted tokens, mint replacement USDT, and transfer it to a government-controlled wallet. [^5]\n\nThe plaintiffs argued that the seizure warrant neither retroactively authorized the freeze of the USDT nor permitted Tether to destroy the original tokens before a final forfeiture judgment. [^6]\n\nTether stated that the new lawsuit is a baseless attempt to interfere with Tether's important work with global law enforcement, including the Department of Justice, to prevent the unlawful use of USDT. [^7]",
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      "thread_label": "Natthawat Kasamvilas",
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    {
      "statement": "Thai businessmen Nutthawat Rukthammachalern and Natthawat Kasamvilas filed a lawsuit in federal court against Tether on August 31, 2026, alleging the company improperly froze 42.4 million USDT stablecoins.",
      "source": "PYMNTS.com",
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      "statement": "The plaintiffs claimed in the complaint that Tether blacklisted the ten Ethereum addresses in October at the informal request of a Homeland Security Investigations agent, without a warrant or court order.",
      "source": "Decrypt",
      "instrument": "News",
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      "published_at": "2026-09-02T15:42:13.000Z",
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    {
      "statement": "The lawsuit alleges that Tether has the technological capability to block owners of USDT on any blockchain anywhere in the world from transferring or accessing their USDT and/or to destroy or to 'burn' the USDT at the push of a button.",
      "source": "PYMNTS.com",
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    {
      "statement": "The plaintiffs alleged that Tether blocked the tokens in October 2025 based on an informal law enforcement request, although no warrants or other legal processes were issued until February 2026.",
      "source": "PYMNTS.com",
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    {
      "statement": "More than three months after the blacklisting, a federal magistrate judge in North Carolina issued a seizure warrant outlining a plan for Tether to burn the restricted tokens, mint replacement USDT, and transfer it to a government-controlled wallet.",
      "source": "Decrypt",
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      "claim_key": null,
      "published_at": "2026-09-02T15:42:13.000Z",
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      "statement": "The plaintiffs argued that the seizure warrant neither retroactively authorized the freeze of the USDT nor permitted Tether to destroy the original tokens before a final forfeiture judgment.",
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      "statement": "Tether stated that the new lawsuit is a baseless attempt to interfere with Tether's important work with global law enforcement, including the Department of Justice, to prevent the unlawful use of USDT.",
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