The $456 million reserve shortfall that forced Justin Sun to bail out token holders of his TrueUSD stablecoin is now subject to a global freezing order upheld by the Digital Economic Court in Dubai.
The dispute centers on whether funds from TrueUSD's reserves were improperly funneled to Aria Commodities DMCC, a Dubai-based trade finance company that finances commodity shipments, mining projects and other illiquid businesses across emerging markets, according to the petitioners' lawyers.
Aria, which is part of a group of companies controlled by financier Matthew William Britten, received the funds 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 alleges that these transfers violated its custody terms and turned cash reserves into long-term loans and private transactions that could not be redeemed even when stablecoin holders requested withdrawals.
In previous comments to CoinDesk, Aria Group's Matthew Brittain said the liquidity issue is more of a term contract issue.
He previously told CoinDesk that “ARIA CFF has never claimed its strategy as highly liquid or suitable as a stablecoin reserve.”
In a judgment dated October 17, 2025, Justice Michael Black KC said Tekteryx presented “serious issues to be considered” and should be frozen to prevent the funds from being moved or concealed before Hong Kong courts determine ownership.
Mr Black said he found that while Tecteryx made a credible claim that the funds were held on a constructive trust, Aria had not provided “any evidence” as to how the funds were transferred or who owned the assets purchased with the funds.
He also cited the “real risk” that Arya's rulers, the UK, could lose or restructure assets “to prevent enforcement of the judgment.”
The ruling is the first global freezing order issued by Dubai's Digital Economic Court.
