Singaporean authorities have brought six fraud-by-false-representation charges against Zhu Juntao, the former chief executive of the collapsed crypto lending platform Hodlnaut. The charges, filed on May 26 by the Commercial Affairs Department, stem from statements made in the wake of TerraUSD’s crash in May 2022.
According to the police, Zhu allegedly directed Hodlnaut employees to disseminate misleading information in the company’s Telegram group and via emails sent to certain users between May and July 2022. These communications purportedly claimed that Hodlnaut had no direct exposure to TerraUSD and did not incur losses from its collapse. Additionally, Zhu is accused of posting three similar statements on his personal Twitter account in June 2022.
Hodlnaut, which once served over 30,000 users by allowing them to deposit digital tokens for interest, became defunct in August 2022 due to financial troubles. Earlier reports estimated the firm lost approximately $190 million from the TerraUSD meltdown and had about $18.5 million tied up in the failed FTX exchange.
The case is part of a broader crackdown by Singapore regulators on crypto firms. Just last week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore revoked the license of Bsquared Technology for providing false information and having weak risk controls. If convicted, Zhu could face up to 20 years in prison, a fine, or both for each charge.