TRON founder Justin Sun is facing possible arrest in China after being placed on the country’s border control list.
A state-sponsored internet safety committee has recommended that Sun be arrested for his alleged involvement with illegal fundraising, money laundering, gambling, and distributing pornography.
Delayed lunch with Warren Buffett
Sun had been scheduled to have lunch with Warren Buffett on July 25th after winning a charity auction with a bid of US$4.57 million [AU$6.52 million].
That lunch was postponed due to Sun reportedly having a “medical issue” that turned out to be kidney stones, but there is now speculation that the postponement was actually due to the issues Justin Sun is facing with Chinese authorities.
The allegations against Sun include his Peiwo project being involved in pornography and his TRON (TRX) project raising funds illegally as well as offering gambling services to Chinese citizens.
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
As such, Sun was placed on China’s border control list, which means that he would be unable to leave the country, and the committee recommended that he be placed under arrest.
Sun denies allegations
In a rebuttal posted on his Weibo account, Justin Sun categorically denies the allegations.
Sun says that after China changed their fundraising requirements on September 4th, 2017, the TRON network “actively cooperated with the regulatory authorities to complete the retiring work on September 20, which was highly recognized by the regulatory authorities.”
He also states that the allegations of money laundering via the Wave Field Foundation are untrue and that it conforms to the local laws and regulations of Singapore where the foundation is based.
“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,” he adds.
Where in the world is Justin Sun?
Initial news reports placed Sun in mainland China, which would have meant he would have been unable to leave the country for his lunch with Warren Buffett.
Justin on live #TRON #BitTorrent https://t.co/Ul23PjpLF2
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) July 23, 2019
However, it does appear that he is, in fact, in San Francisco at present time as he recorded a livestream today that showed the Oakland Bay Bridge in the background.
As for the Warren Buffett lunch, there is no word on when it will be rescheduled.
Sun had recently invited eToro Founder and CEO Yoni Assia, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, and Huboi Global CFO Chris Lee to be his guests with several more empty slots to be filled.
Impact on TRON price
The allegations against Sun and his placement on the border control list had a significantly negative impact on the price of TRON.
TRX prices fell 19% after the news of Sun’s legal issues broke, but the altcoin has bounced back a bit to trade at $0.0249, an overall 24-hour drop of 12.56%.
Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube