Dubai Freezes $456M; FDT Supports Techteryx Effort to Recover TrueUSD Funds from Aria

FDT Supports Techteryx in Recovering TrueUSD Funds After Dubai Court Freeze

First Digital Trust (FDT) has voiced support for Techteryx’s efforts to recover $456 million in TrueUSD reserves frozen by a Dubai court. The funds became illiquid in 2023 after transfers into complex investment structures tied to the Aria Group, prompting an emergency bailout from Justin Sun to keep the stablecoin operational.

“We welcome any steps that assist Techteryx in pursuing recovery of its funds from the Aria entities,” FDT CEO Vincent Chok told CoinDesk. “We understand the Court has ordered Aria to provide disclosure regarding the assets and look forward to seeing the results of that process.”

FDT was not a party to the Dubai case. Its involvement stems from its former role as fiduciary custodian for TrueUSD reserves held on behalf of Techteryx. Earlier reports indicated that Techteryx 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 Dubai-based Aria entity, where the assets became tied up in illiquid trade-finance positions.

Chok stressed that FDT acted solely as a fiduciary intermediary, executing transactions per Techteryx’s instructions.

Separately, FDT continues pursuing a defamation case against Justin Sun, who claimed in April that the trustee was “effectively insolvent,” temporarily unpegging FDT’s stablecoin, FDUSD. “There are no public updates to share at this stage,” Chok said.