Justin Sun has accused the Donald Trump-backed cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial of concealing its United Arab Emirates (UAE) citizenship to evade jurisdiction in his ongoing federal lawsuit.
The founder of Tron stated on November 3 that his legal team has requested sanctions against World Liberty Financial and its counsel, following the company’s delayed disclosure of foreign ownership ties months into the litigation regarding his $45 million investment.
This disclosure adds another layer of controversy to the president’s cryptocurrency venture, which has marketed itself as an American financial enterprise despite receiving a reported $500 million investment from an Abu Dhabi-backed entity linked to a high-ranking UAE government official.
Sun alleges that World Liberty selectively leverages its national identity, presenting itself as a domestic entity when raising capital, while invoking its foreign ties to seek dismissal in American courts.
He posted on X:
“World Liberty was proudly American when it was selling tokens. It discovered its UAE roots only when it needed a way out of an American federal courtroom.”
The accusations follow an August court filing in which World Liberty expanded its ownership disclosures from a single entity to 22, revealing citizenship across Florida, Delaware, Puerto Rico, and the UAE.
Sun contends that the company initially disclosed only Florida citizenship, despite regulatory requirements to fully identify the members of its ownership structure.
The revised filing occurred just six days after an August 20 hearing regarding World Liberty’s attempt to move the investor dispute to arbitration. Sun noted that the judge had indicated some claims should remain in open court, while others could proceed through arbitration.
Subsequently, World Liberty argued that its UAE citizenship deprived the federal court of jurisdiction, citing the presence of foreign parties on both sides of the lawsuit.
Sun, who sued the company in April alleging that it induced his investment through fraud and unlawlessly froze his tokens, stated that his legal team had already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars contesting the arbitration request.
Trump’s $500 Million UAE Connection Draws Renewed Scrutiny
The ownership dispute carries broader political significance, as World Liberty’s ties to the UAE had already been attracting scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest involving the president’s family.
In January 2025, days before Trump’s inauguration, an investment vehicle backed by UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to acquire a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million.
The agreement, signed by Eric Trump, directed approximately $187 million to Trump family-controlled entities, according to reports on the transaction.
Sheikh Tahnoon, a brother of the UAE president, oversees an investment empire with significant interests in artificial intelligence and advanced technology.
The transaction subsequently drew scrutiny as the Trump administration expanded the UAE’s access to advanced American AI chips. Democratic lawmakers raised questions about potential conflicts between the president’s business interests and U.S. foreign policy.
World Liberty has rejected suggestions that its investment arrangement influenced U.S. government decisions. President Trump has also stated that he was unaware of the transaction, asserting that his sons manage the business.
Despite this, the company’s public messaging has consistently emphasized its American identity.
Its Gold Paper declares that World Liberty is not organized offshore, describing it as an American corporation seeking to bring decentralized finance to the United States.
Those statements are not necessarily inconsistent with foreign ownership, as a U.S.-organized company can have foreign investors and acquire foreign citizenship for purposes of federal diversity-jurisdiction rules.
The reported UAE investment occurred after Sun’s initial token purchase in November 2024, and became public months before World Liberty amended its court disclosure.
The key unanswered question in Sun’s sanctions request is why the company failed to identify these foreign ownership connections when the federal litigation began.
Sun argues that World Liberty either failed to supply its legal team with accurate ownership information or that its attorneys neglected to conduct a proper investigation into the company’s ownership structure.
World Liberty has previously rejected Sun’s fraud allegations, countering with accusations of misconduct in a separate defamation lawsuit.
Sun stated that he will pursue the original dispute in California state court once the federal judge resolves his sanctions request, leaving the court to determine whether the delayed ownership disclosure warrants penalties against the company or its legal team.