Tron founder Justin Sun has been through it all this week, from falling ill with kidney stones to alleged money laundering charges.
Reports are now claiming that Sun has been banned from leaving China, though contrary to these reports, he has since tweeted pictures of himself in San Francisco.
Earlier this year, Sun won a bid at a charity auction to have lunch with Warren Buffett. He has since invited several of his crypto friends to attend the lunch, but recent reports have claimed he now has kidney stones and the lunch will be rescheduled.
This claim was echoed by the Tron Foundation, which tweeted: “Tron Foundation announces postponement of Warren Buffett lunch, press conferences after Justin Sun falls ill with kidney stones. Parties to reschedule at a later date.”
TRON Foundation announces postponement of Warren Buffett lunch, press conferences after founder Justin Sun falls ill with kidney stones. Parties agreed to reschedule at a later date. @GLIDEsf @WarrenBuffett
— TRON DAO (@trondao) July 22, 2019
Sun allegedly under investigation
However, some have been speculating that this isn’t the real reason for the lunch postponement. Twitter user The Crypto Panda released a tweet yesterday stating:
“It’s been reported on Weibo that Justin Sun was issued an exit ban by China’s Ministry of State Security and is currently under investigation for money laundering, Ponzi fraud etc.”
“How can Justin have lunch with Buffett when he isn’t even allowed to leave China!”
It's been reported on Weibo that Justin Sun was issued an exit ban by China's Ministry of State Security & is currently under investigation for money laundering, Ponzi fraud etc
How can Justin have lunch with Buffet when he isn't even allowed to leave China!$TRX pic.twitter.com/NSdM882veY
— RamenPanda (@IamRamenPanda) July 23, 2019
Shortly afterwards, the 21st Century Business Herald alleged that Sun had been barred from leaving China and accused him of illegal fundraising through the Tron project.
The publication also alleged that the Tron network had been operating illegal gambling services accessible to Chinese residents before accusing Sun’s early start-up – Peiwo – of illegal involvement in the pornography business.
It didn’t take long before other publications began reporting on the allegations. Caixin Global reported that Sun was placed on a border control list by Chinese authorities that would restrict him from travelling abroad because of allegations including illegal fundraising, money laundering, gambling, and spreading pornography.
Justin Sun, controversial Chinese blockchain tycoon who bid $4.57 million for lunch with Warren Buffett, barred from foreign travel on allegations including illegal fundraising. https://t.co/voFisZABoL
— Caixin Global (@caixin) July 23, 2019
Sun denies all on Weibo
Following the release of the early reports, Sun took to Weibo to clear the air and deny all accusations.
The translated Weibo post reads: “The illegal network fundraising was not true. After the four ministries issued the regulatory requirements on September 4 2017, Tron actively cooperated with the regulatory authorities to complete the retiring work on September 20, which was highly recognised by the regulatory authorities.”
He goes on to state: “The net money laundering is not true. The wave field foundation is located in Singapore and conforms to the local laws and regulations of Singapore.
“The wave field agreement is a decentralised blockchain agreement. It is engaged in the research and development of blockchain agreements. There is no legal capital and cryptocurrency withdrawal channel for capital flow, and the nature of the business determines that it is only related to technology development.”
Sun appears in San Francisco
Following Sun’s rebuttal, numerous publications began flocking to the story, causing a stir online. Sun then took to Twitter to seemingly vanquish any speculation of him being banned from leaving China by uploading a series of photos of himself in San Francisco.
In the photos, Sun can be seen with a member of his staff standing in a building that overlooks the Bay Bridge. The tweet also has the geo-location tagged as San Francisco.
Bay bridge is beautiful. Me and our comms guy AKA bodyguard. #TRON pic.twitter.com/ujj2FEkN3K
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) July 23, 2019
Sun also uploaded a separate tweet stating: “I feel so much better now! It seems I will be back to work with full speed this Friday!”
I feel so much better now! It seems I will be back to work with full speed on this Friday! 😄#TRON #TRX $TRX #BitTorrent #BTT $BTT
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) July 24, 2019
At present, there is no official response to the claims that Sun is under investigation for money laundering charges or barred from leaving China.
Coin Rivet has reached out to Justin Sun and the Tron Foundation for a statement regarding the allegations.
Interested in reading more Tron-related stories? Discover more about Binance’s Helen Hai who will be joining Justin Sun at the crypto power lunch with Warren Buffett.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.