Justin Sun went into full PR mode yesterday as rumors that his much-anticipated lunch with Warren Buffett had been postponed not because of his self-given reason of kidney stones but because Chinese authorities were seeking his arrest. Sun took to Twitter and Periscope to deny the allegations, but this didn’t stop the crypto community having a field day at his expense.
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
— ๑ THE CRYPTO PANDA ๑ (@PandaofBinance) July 23, 2019
Chinese Media Outlet Suggests Tron Illegalities
Sun revealed only two days before the $4.75 million lunch date with Buffett, to which he had invited several high-ranking individuals in the crypto world, that a bout of kidney stones had forced him to postpone it. Shortly after this announcement however, reports began to emerge from Chinese media that Sun was in fact in China and not San Francisco as he had claimed, and that he was not being allowed to travel to the U.S. for the lunch due to legal problems with several aspects of his platform, Tron, for which his detention was being sought by Chinese police. The claims were made in 21st Century Business Herald and included accusations that Tron’s fundraise was done illegally, and that apps on his network promoted pornographic transactions and gambling, both of which are illegal in China.
Bay bridge is beautiful. Me and our comms guy AKA bodyguard. #TRON pic.twitter.com/ujj2FEkN3K
— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) July 23, 2019
Sun Forced to Prove his Whereabouts
Sun hit back by posting photos and a video of himself in his office in San Francisco, as well as taking to Chinese social media platform Weibo to counter the claims made by 21st Century Business Herald. In the Weibo post, Sun rebutted the claims that the Tron fundraise was illegal, stating that funds were returned to investors when ICOs and airdrops were banned in China, and that his team constantly worked with regulators and users to ensure that content on the platform was as positive as possible. He did also offer the caveat however that as the platform is decentralized there is only so much he can do. The developments only exacerbated TRX’s price decline, which has seen it drop 35% in a little over two weeks. False as the accusations may well turn out to be, they nevertheless allowed crypto Twitter to have some fun at Sun’s expense, and remind him just how fondly they think of him:
BREAKING NEWS – Justin Sun seen entering ‘hospital’ to treat his ‘kidney illness’. He was too weak so two kind police officers helped him to his cell, I mean room. ? pic.twitter.com/46mUzCxQom
— Crypto Meme Central ? (@CryptoScamHub) July 23, 2019
> Be Justin Sun
> Pay for lunch with Buffett
> Hype lunch
> Short Tron on bitmex 100x
> Be sick with kidney stones
> Announce lunch delayed on Twitter
> Make back money spent on lunch
> Later noobs— Ad_Infinitum (@CryptoMessiah) July 22, 2019
Justin Sun right now. pic.twitter.com/AL04u7qIXT
— Panama ₿ (@Panama_TJ) July 23, 2019