Justin Sun Doubles Bounty to $100 Million and Deploys “AI Detective” in Ongoing FDT Dispute

TRON Founder Justin Sun has escalated his year-long campaign against Hong Kong-based trust company First Digital Trust (FDT), claiming that a proprietary AI-powered “detective system” has been independently developed to process complex criminal case data and identify suspects in fraud cases he alleges total over $1 billion.

In a post on X on March 25, Sun announced that 10% of the total value analyzed — $100 million — would be allocated as rewards for white-hat contributors who provide key leads and for law enforcement agencies involved in pursuing the cases. The system, Sun claimed, will initially be deployed in cooperation with judicial authorities in China, Hong Kong, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

Sun named specific individuals and entities he alleges are criminal suspects, including FDT, its CEO Vincent Chok, ARIA Commodities, and Matthew William Brittain. The claims were published via Web3Bounty.io, a platform Sun launched in May 2025 to crowdsource leads related to the dispute.

It is important to note that none of the individuals or entities named by Sun have been formally charged with criminal offenses in connection with these specific allegations as of this writing. FDT has actively disputed Sun’s claims and has filed a defamation lawsuit against him.

A $500M TUSD reserve dispute

The current escalation is the latest chapter in a dispute that erupted in April 2025, when Sun publicly accused First Digital Trust of misappropriating approximately $456–500 million in reserves backing TrueUSD (TUSD), a stablecoin for which FDT served as a custodian.

Sun alleged that funds were diverted through unauthorized investments via ARIA Commodities and its associated individuals and that the money was subsequently funneled through Hong Kong’s FDT and Legacy Trust into multiple Dubai-based banks, including Mashreq Bank, ADIB, Emirates NBD, and EFG. He urged Dubai regulators to freeze suspicious inflows and called on Hong Kong authorities to investigate what he described as systemic failures in the territory’s trust company oversight regime.

The allegations triggered a brief depeg of FDUSD, the stablecoin issued by First Digital Group, though the token subsequently recovered. Sun claimed he personally provided liquidity support to stabilize the situation.

In April 2025, Sun announced a $50 million bounty program — equivalent to roughly 10% of what he described as stolen TUSD reserves — to incentivize information leading to fund recovery. He urged insiders and industry players with relevant information to come forward, promising full transparency through web3bounty.io.

The new announcement effectively doubles the bounty to $100 million and expands the scope from $500 million to over $1 billion in alleged criminal activity, though the basis for the increased figures has not been independently verified.

FDT’s response: Defamation lawsuit and denial

First Digital Trust has not remained silent. In April 2025, FDT filed a defamation claim against Justin Sun, seeking an injunction to restrain him from publishing further claims about the company’s alleged insolvency. FDT has characterized Sun’s public campaign as a “misleading narrative” and has maintained that it processed redemptions normally during the period in question.

The defamation lawsuit remains active and represents a direct legal challenge to the factual basis of Sun’s allegations. FDT has acknowledged processing some outflows during the April 2025 crisis but attributed them to market uncertainty following Sun’s public accusations rather than any underlying insolvency.

The legal dispute creates a situation where both parties are simultaneously accusing the other of misconduct—Sun alleging fraud, FDT alleging defamation—with no final court ruling to date on the substantive claims.

The AI detective claim

Sun’s latest announcement introduces a new element: the claim that a proprietary AI system has been developed capable of “systematically processing complex case data and identifying criminal suspects in an extremely short period of time.” The announcement states that this system will assist judicial authorities in bringing suspects to justice.

However, several aspects of the claim remain unverified. No independent confirmation has been provided from any of the four named jurisdictions — China, Hong Kong, the U.S., or the UAE — that they have agreed to cooperate with or deploy the system. And the expansion from $500 million to $1 billion in total case value has not been explained with reference to specific new cases or evidence.

The credibility question: Sun’s own legal history

The announcement also arrives in a complex credibility environment for Sun himself. In early March 2026, Sun settled his own SEC fraud case for $10 million. The SEC had previously charged him with offering and selling unregistered securities and engaging in market manipulation related to TRX and BTT tokens. The settlement, while not an admission of wrongdoing, resolved civil charges that had been pending since 2023.

Separately, in January 2025, Sun’s $75 million donation to entities associated with President Donald Trump drew scrutiny after his SEC case was subsequently dismissed, raising questions about the intersection of political influence and regulatory outcomes.

Sun’s supporters argue that his willingness to pursue FDT publicly and financially—committing first $50 million and now $100 million in bounty rewards—demonstrates genuine conviction in the merits of his case. His critics point to the pattern of public accusations without final judicial adjudication, the active defamation lawsuit, and his own regulatory history as reasons for caution.

A Dubai court freeze provides partial corroboration

One element that lends some judicial weight to Sun’s broader claims is a Dubai court order that froze assets linked to the alleged misappropriation. The freeze, reported in late 2025, suggested that at least one jurisdiction found sufficient preliminary evidence to act on the allegations.

Sun subsequently doubled down on his allegations, urging Hong Kong regulators to act and accusing FDT of exploiting gaps in Hong Kong’s trust company regulatory regime.

Whether additional jurisdictions take formal action in response to the AI detective system or the expanded bounty program remains to be seen. For now, the dispute continues to play out primarily on social media and through competing legal filings rather than through criminal prosecutions.

Also Read: Justin Sun’s Dual Grip on Tron & TRX Treasury Raises Red Flags

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