As a Dubai court froze $456 million tied to TrueUSD’s reserves, First Digital Trust said it supported Techteryx’s efforts to recover the funds after they became illiquid in 2023 following transfers to complex investment structures associated with the Aria Group, a deficit that required an emergency bailout from Justin Sun to keep the stablecoin running.
“We welcome any action that allows Techteryx to recover its funds from the Aria entities,” Vincent Chok of First Digital said in an email to CoinDesk. “We understand that the Court has ordered Aria to provide information regarding the assets, and we look forward to seeing the results of this process.”
FDT was not a party to the case in Dubai.
The connection between FDT and Aria stems from FDT’s former role as escrow agent for TrueUSD’s reserves, which it held on behalf of Techteryx.
As CoinDesk reported earlier this year, Techteryx said it asked FDT to place the funds in the Aria Commodity Finance Fund, a Cayman Islands vehicle. Filings in the Hong Kong court later alleged that approximately $456 million was transferred to Aria Commodities DMCC, a separate entity from Aria based in Dubai, where the assets became tied up in illiquid trade finance positions.
The order from the Dubai Digital Economy Court froze these funds.
FDT CEO Vincent Chok told CoinDesk that the company 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 suit against Sun, which in April claimed that the trustee was “effectively insolvent,” resulting in FDT’s stablecoin, FDUSD, becoming unindexed for a short period of time.
“There are no public updates to share at this point,” Chok told CoinDesk.
