Justin Sun is seeking sanctions over World Liberty Financial's alleged failure to disclose its UAE citizenship in an initial court filing. World Liberty amended its ownership disclosure after
Tron founder Justin Sun is seeking sanctions against Trump-linked World Liberty Financial and its lawyers, accusing them of hiding the company’s United Arab Emirates citizenship from a California federal court. Sun announced the motion on November 3, months into his lawsuit over frozen WLFI tokens.
Sun said he agreed to buy $30 million in WLFI tokens in November 2024, later raising his investment to $45 million. He described himself as one of World Liberty’s earliest and largest investors.
In April, Sun sued the company, alleging fraud and the unlawful freezing of his tokens. His purchase agreement allowed claims in California state or federal court, and he chose federal court. Sun said federal diversity rules require parties to have different citizenship.
A company takes on the citizenship of its owners for this purpose. World Liberty’s initial disclosure listed only itself and Florida as its sole citizenship. Its lawyers certified they knew of no other owners requiring disclosure, Sun said.
World Liberty sought private arbitration, but Sun opposed the request. He said his lawyers spent months and hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting it.
At an August hearing, the court ruled that some claims should remain in open court and others go to arbitration. Less than a week later, World Liberty amended its disclosure, identifying 22 members in its ownership chain.
The revised filing listed Florida, Delaware, Puerto Rico, and the UAE, according to Sun. World Liberty now argues that the federal court lacks jurisdiction because both sides include foreign parties.
Sun said World Liberty’s lawyers claimed they learned about the UAE citizenship only after filing the original disclosure. He argued that either they failed to check properly or the company gave them incomplete information. He said World Liberty refused to explain the omission.
His motion seeks sanctions against the company and its lawyers over what he calls a misleading court filing. Sun cited World Liberty’s public description of itself as an American, tax-paying corporation that was not organized offshore.
World Liberty countersued Sun in May, calling his claims a “meritless PR stunt.” The company previously defended freezing his tokens and could not be reached for comment on the latest allegations. Sun said he will refile in California state court after the sanctions motion is resolved.
