With a Dubai court freezing $456 million tied to TrueUSD reserves, First Digital Trust said it supports Techteryx’s effort to recover the funds after they became illiquid in 2023 following transfers to complex investment structures associated with the Aria Group, a shortfall that required an emergency bailout from Justin Sun to keep the stablecoin up and running.
“We welcome any measures that help Techteryx recover its funds from the Aria entities,” First Digital’s Vincent Chok said in an email to CoinDesk. “We understand that the Court has ordered Aria to provide information about the assets and we look forward to seeing the results of that process.”
FDT was not a party in the Dubai case.
The connection between FDT and Aria arises from FDT’s previous role as fiduciary custodian of TrueUSD reserves, which it held on behalf of Techteryx.
As CoinDesk reported earlier this year, Techteryx said it directed FDT to place the funds in the Aria Commodity Finance Fund, a Cayman Islands vehicle. Subsequently, court documents in Hong Kong alleged that approximately $456 million was transferred to Aria Commodities DMCC, a separate entity from Aria based in Dubai, where assets were tied up in illiquid trade finance positions.
The Dubai Digital Economy Court’s court order 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 a defamation case against Sun, who, in April, claimed that the manager is “effectively insolvent,” causing FDT’s stablecoin, FDUSD, to be briefly decoupled.
“There are no public updates to share at this time,” Chok told CoinDesk.
