On April 3rd, TRON founder Justin Sun announced a major financial fraud involving the theft of TUSD (TrueUSD) legal reserve at a press conference. In this incident, financial institutions including the Hong Kong-licensed First Digital Trust Limited (FDT), Legacy Trust Company Limited (Legacy Trust), and a private company in Dubai collectively misappropriated $456 million from customers through fraudulent actions. Justin Sun stated that while providing financial support to Techteryx, TUSD's owner, he discovered that this case not only threatened public interests but also exposed serious loopholes in the trust industry and damaged Hong Kong's reputation as a global financial center.
According to the press conference disclosure, after Techteryx acquired TUSD from TrueCoin LLC in December 2020, TrueCoin was retained and entrusted with the task of selecting financial service providers and coordinating international operations, an agreement ending in July 2023. During this period, TrueCoin used its trustee role to select FDT as the legal asset custodian for TUSD's reserves, managing over $500 million in reserve funds. TrueCoin also proposed the Aria Financial Commodities Fund ("Cayman Fund") to Techteryx as a primary investment.
In subsequent transactions, TrueCoin was accused of colluding with FDT and other organizations to transfer $456 million of TUSD's legal reserve funds to a private company in Dubai, wholly owned by the wife of the Cayman Fund's investment manager, through forged documents and unauthorized transfers. Vincent Chok, CEO and Director of FDT and Legacy Trust, directly approved these illegal transactions, seriously violating trustee obligations.
In 2023, due to FDT's failure to pay interest on some investments on behalf of Techteryx, Techteryx sent an independent expert team to conduct a comprehensive investigation into FDT, discovering large-scale misappropriation of entrusted customer funds and seeking support from Justin Sun. Justin Sun used personal funds to support Techteryx, ensuring TUSD's sufficient liquidation and protecting all TUSD holders' interests.
It is known that since September 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has publicly stated accusations of fraud against TrueCoin related to TUSD. These fraudulent actions occurred after Techteryx acquired TUSD while TrueCoin continued to operate TUSD. The SEC believes that "TrueCoin profited by making false statements about investment safety while exposing investors to undisclosed major risks".
Justin Sun stated: "This is public money. To protect public interests and maintain Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial center, I decided to provide liquidity support. I was shocked by the scale of this fraud and feel immense responsibility."
Justin Sun called on Hong Kong regulatory authorities to take decisive measures to close loopholes and prevent further public fund losses. He chose to publicly expose the issue and unveil the fraud, hoping all fraudsters would be severely prosecuted by law, "They must never be allowed to continue deceiving the public under the guise of licensed organizations in Hong Kong or anywhere else".
In this case, the ability of licensed organizations like FDT to arbitrarily steal public money reveals regulatory deficiencies, and the complex cross-border criminal network emphasizes the necessity of global cooperation in combating financial fraud. Justin Sun said, "As an industry member, I choose to disclose the truth and support TUSD to protect the public and promote healthy industry development. Fraudsters must be severely punished by law."
