Dubai Court Freezes $456M Linked to Justin Sun’s Bailout of TrueUSD Issuer Techteryx

The $456 million reserve shortfall that forced Justin Sun to bail out the token holders of the TrueUSD stablecoin is now the subject of a worldwide freezing order upheld by Dubai’s Digital Economy Court.

The dispute centers on whether funds from TrueUSD’s reserves were improperly funneled into Aria Commodities DMCC, a Dubai-based trade-finance firm that financed commodity shipments, mining projects and other illiquid ventures across emerging markets, according to the claimant’s counsel.

Aria, part of a group of entities controlled by financier Matthew William Brittain, received the money in 2021 and 2022 through accounts managed by Hong Kong trustee First Digital Trust.

First Digital Trust did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CoinDesk.

Techteryx claims those transfers breached its custody terms and turned cash reserves into long-term loans and private deals that could not be redeemed when stablecoin holders sought withdrawals.

In prior comments to CoinDesk, Aria Group’s Matthew Brittain said issues of liquidity were more of a matter of term commitments.

“ARIA CFF has never held [its] strategy out as highly liquid, or appropriate for the reserves of a stablecoin,” he previously told CoinDesk.

In his ruling, dated Oct. 17, 2025, Justice Michael Black KC said Techteryx had shown “serious issues to be tried” and that the funds should be frozen to prevent them from being moved or concealed before Hong Kong courts could determine ownership.

Black said he found that Techteryx had demonstrated a credible claim that the funds were held on constructive trust, while Aria had provided “no evidence” of how the money was transferred or who owned the assets purchased with it.

He also cited a “real risk” that Brittain, Aria’s controlling mind, could dissipate or restructure assets “to frustrate the enforcement of any judgment.”

The ruling marks the first worldwide freezing order issued by Dubai’s Digital Economy Court.