Justin Sun seeks $264K sanctions over World Liberty UAE disclosure

Sun asks court for $263,821 over ownership disclosure

Tron founder Justin Sun is seeking $263,821.20 in sanctions against World Liberty Financial and its lawyers. He accuses the company of giving a misleading disclosure about its ownership.

The dispute is linked to his $45 million WLFI token investment. A token is a digital asset that can be held and traded on a blockchain network.

Sun said he plans to refile his token-freeze lawsuit in California state court after the sanctions motion is resolved. A hearing is set for Dec. 10.

Key points from the filing

• Sun and two co-plaintiffs are seeking $263,821.20 in sanctions.
• World Liberty first listed Florida as its sole citizenship, according to the filing.
• Almost three months later, it amended the disclosure to list 22 individuals and entities in its ownership chain, including those in the United Arab Emirates.
• World Liberty did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the report.

What Sun's filing says about the UAE disclosure

In the federal court filing, Sun and his co-plaintiffs said the amended disclosure listed 22 individuals and entities. That list included parties in the United Arab Emirates.

Sun said in a statement: "World Liberty presumably always knew who its owners were." He added: "When we asked how this happened, World Liberty refused to tell us."

The amended disclosure came six days after a federal judge questioned World Liberty's bid to move Sun's claims into arbitration. Arbitration is a private process used to settle disputes instead of a court trial.

World Liberty's lawyers then argued that its UAE citizenship deprived the federal court of jurisdiction. Jurisdiction means the court's legal power to hear the case. They said foreign parties were on both sides of the lawsuit.

World Liberty's explanation in an August email

In an Aug. 26 email included in the court exhibits, World Liberty's lawyer Sam Cleveland said the team had "recently" learned of additional citizenship information. He said World Liberty already had UAE citizenship when Sun filed the lawsuit in April.

Sun's lawyers sought corporate records and testimony about ownership and when attorneys learned of the UAE connection. The filing says World Liberty gave limited documentation and did not explain why the original disclosure left out that information.

According to a sworn declaration by attorney Edward Moss, the $263,821.20 request covers fees for four attorneys who worked opposing arbitration. It does not include other lawyers' fees and costs tied to jurisdictional discovery and the sanctions motion.

Background to the legal fight

In April, Sun sued World Liberty. He alleged fraud and the unlawful freezing of his tokens.

In May, World Liberty filed a defamation lawsuit against Sun. It alleged false statements and violations of token-sale terms. Sun denied those allegations.

The dispute followed a January 2025 agreement by an Abu Dhabi-backed investment vehicle to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million. Sun had also invested in World Liberty and bought President Donald Trump's TRUMP memecoin, a type of crypto token linked to a public figure. His holdings in that token were valued at about $18.5 million, according to the report.

What is confirmed and what is still disputed

The sanctions amount, the amended disclosure listing 22 parties, and the Dec. 10 hearing date are stated in the filing and report. The reasons for the original disclosure and why it was changed are disputed by the two sides.

World Liberty's stated position is that it learned the additional citizenship information recently and already had UAE citizenship in April. Sun's position is that the company knew its owners and did not explain the delay.

Sources

• Cointelegraph