Former Hodlnaut CEO Zhu Juntao was charged in Singapore with six counts of fraud by false illustration, in a case tied to statements Zhu and Hodlnaut staff allegedly made after the 2022 collapse of the Terra ecosystem.
Singapore Police stated Zhu, 36, was charged following an investigation by the Business Affairs Division and faces three fees below Part 424A(1)(a) learn with Part 424A(3) of the Penal Code 1871, in addition to three additional fees below the identical provision learn with Part 109.
The case facilities on alleged false claims about Hodlnaut’s publicity to the TerraUSD (UST) crash, together with accusations that Zhu directed workers to problem a few of the statements.
Police stated Zhu allegedly instigated Hodlnaut staff to make deceptive statements within the firm’s official Telegram group and in emails despatched to some customers between Might and July 2022, asserting that the platform didn’t have direct publicity to UST and had not suffered losses from its crash.
Singapore Police Power fees former Hodlnaut chief govt Zhu Juntao. Supply: Singapore Police Power
The police assertion additionally stated Zhu printed three related posts on his private Twitter account, now referred to as X, in June 2022. If convicted, he faces as much as 20 years in jail, a advantageous, or each, on every cost.
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The fees revive scrutiny of some of the damaging episodes within the 2022 digital asset market rout. The Terra ecosystem imploded in Might 2022 when its algorithmic stablecoin UST misplaced its greenback peg, wiping out roughly $50 billion in market worth and serving to set off broader failures throughout the crypto lending sector.
Hodlnaut’s collapse and liquidation
Hodlnaut, a Singapore-based crypto platform that allowed customers to deposit tokens for yield, had greater than 30,000 customers worldwide earlier than it turned defunct in August 2022 resulting from monetary difficulties, in response to police.
The corporate halted withdrawals in August 2022, and its web site now says its affairs, enterprise and property are being managed by court-appointed liquidators.
Different crypto lenders, together with Celsius Community and Voyager Digital, additionally fell into chapter 11 in 2022 amid the Terra fallout and a wider market hunch, leaving a whole lot of hundreds of consumers with frozen funds.
Celsius reported greater than $10 billion in belongings earlier than its collapse, whereas Voyager’s Chapter 11 submitting listed between $1 billion and $10 billion in belongings and liabilities.
Cointelegraph reached out to Hodlnaut’s court-appointed liquidators, however they didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
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