FDT Welcomes Dubai’s $456M Freeze as Techteryx Seeks to Recover TrueUSD Reserves from Aria

With a Dubai court freezing $456 million tied to TrueUSD’s reserves, First Digital Trust said it backs Techteryx’s effort to recover the funds after they became illiquid in 2023 following transfers into complex investment structures associated with the Aria Group, a shortfall that required an emergency bailout from Justin Sun to keep the stablecoin running.

“We welcome any steps that assist Techteryx in pursuing recovery of its funds from the Aria entities,” First Digital’s Vincent Chok said in an email to CoinDesk. “We understand the Court has ordered Aria to provide disclosure regarding the assets, and we look forward to seeing the results of that process.”

FDT was not a party to the case in Dubai.

The connection between FDT and Aria stems from FDT’s former role as fiduciary custodian for TrueUSD’s reserves, which it held on behalf of Techteryx.

As CoinDesk reported earlier this year, Techteryx said it instructed FDT to place the funds into the Aria Commodity Finance Fund, a Cayman Islands vehicle. Court filings in Hong Kong later alleged that roughly $456 million was instead transferred to Aria Commodities DMCC, a separate Dubai-based Aria entity, where the assets became tied up in illiquid trade-finance positions.

The court order from Dubai’s Digital Economy Court froze these funds.

FDT CEO Vincent Chok told CoinDesk the firm acted solely as a fiduciary intermediary and executed all transactions exactly as instructed by Techteryx and its representatives.

Separately, FDT continues to pursue a defamation case against Sun, who, in April, claimed that the trustee is “effectively insolvent,” which caused FDT’s stablecoin, FDUSD, to become briefly unpegged.

“There are no public updates to share at this stage,” Chok told CoinDesk.