Singapore authorities have charged Zhu Juntao, former CEO of collapsed crypto lender Hodlnaut, with six counts of fraud by false representation. The charges stem from allegations that Zhu directed staff in 2022 to falsely claim on Telegram and in customer emails that Hodlnaut had no direct exposure to the TerraUSD collapse and had not suffered losses. Zhu also allegedly repeated these claims on his personal X account. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison per charge. Hodlnaut froze withdrawals in August 2022 after TerraUSD's implosion, which erased $40 billion from the crypto market. Restructuring reports revealed Hodlnaut had $317 million in user funds in Anchor Protocol and lost $189.7 million. The company later entered liquidation. Zhu disputed all charges and has a pre-trial conference in June 2026.

Key facts

• Zhu Juntao faces six fraud charges for false statements about TerraUSD exposure.
• Allegedly directed staff to publish false claims on Telegram and in emails.
• Hodlnaut lost $189.7 million from Terra exposure; user funds were in Anchor Protocol.
• If convicted, Zhu could face up to 20 years in prison per charge.
• Hodlnaut was ordered into liquidation after freezing withdrawals in August 2022.