Scoop: Justin Sun falsely claimed diplomatic immunity in lawsuit
According to sources familiar with the Richard Hall and Lukasz Juraszek vs Rainberry Inc. lawsuit, Justin Sun was not entitled to use diplomatic immunity to avoid liability concerning his actions while running the BitTorrent buyer.
This is despite long-term claims from the Tron founder’s legal team that his ambassadorial roles handed him this loophole.
A Web3 of lies
In 2021, Grenada announced that Sun had been appointed the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Grenada to the World Trade Organization. This is true, as evidenced by a 2024 Grenadian news article that states Sun was terminated from his UN position, along with a slew of other foreigners who had cushy diplomatic roles, in 2022.
Protos has also obtained documentation confirming Sun’s status as a diplomat for Grenada and a visa proving that he was Ambassador for Science and Emerging Technology for Grenada’s Mission to the United Nations.
However, as detailed by the Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Executive Office of the Secretary-General, Shirin Yaseen, this ambassadorship only grants diplomatic immunity in Switzerland when a representative is on a mission.
Read more: Justin Sun insists he never meant to sell Tron and BitTorrent to US investors
“Issues of immunity regarding diplomats/representatives is a bilateral issue between the country in question and the US,” said Yaseen. “Immunity comes into effect only when we are carrying out our official functions.”
She added, “There’s no retroactive immunity.” This suggests that, regardless of whether or not Sun briefly obtained the immunity status, it shouldn’t have, and wouldn’t have, affected the outcome of the civil court case.
The source says that Sun first claimed diplomatic immunity in March of 2022, which is only a few months before the crypto billionaire lost his Grenadian WTO and UN ambassadorships altogether. As such, it’s odd that his legal team continued to suggest that Sun had any diplomatic immunity whatsoever through May 2023.
Sun’s plans fail
It’s clear that Sun attempted, through investing in Grenada, to create a diplomatic bubble in which he was untouchable — civilly and criminally.
But the horse Sun hitched his wagon to bolted quickly when Grenada’s ruling party lost an election and he was stripped of his titles. Additionally, the titles and immunities Sun was able to acquire were so narrow in scope that there is no possibility that they would have functioned in the way Sun hoped.
Ultimately, the arbitrator in the civil case against Sun stated that:
“It is evident that Sun’s refusal to appear at deposition, in violation of the Arbitrator’s order are willful – they are knowing and intentional. Sun’s refusal to appear involves a violation fundamental to the case; despite his prior conduct acknowledging that his deposition was appropriate he refuses to be deposed at all.“
Read more: Justin Sun directed wash trading scheme from his US apartment, SEC claims
Endgame
Sun and Rainberry have settled the civil suit brought against them by Richard Hall and Lukasz Juraszek; diplomatic immunity didn’t pay off.
The arbitrator in the civil suit struck Sun’s testimony from the record and ordered a default against him. It’s unknown exactly what settlement was reached.
Sun doesn’t take trips to Switzerland or visit San Francisco anymore — his days of appearing at the World Trade Organization and making excuses for missing lunches with Warren Buffett are behind him. Instead, the billionaire spends the majority of his time hopping between countries where he’s least likely to be extradited to the US, and marketing TRON and his cryptocurrency exchanges.
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