- The South Korean authorities have reported that Do Kwon is hiding in Serbia amid investigations into the Terra project’s collapse.
- Investors lost millions of assets to the Terra ecosystem crash in May.
- The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office issued a warrant for Kwon’s arrest in September.
- Interpol also issued a “Red Notice” against the Terra co-founder, but to no avail.
- South Korea continues its efforts to prosecute Daniel Shin, the other co-founder.
Amidst ongoing investigations into the collapse of the Terra project, authorities in South Korea have reported Do Kwon as hiding in Serbia, according to intelligence obtained by the country’s investigators. According to the report, the investigators confirmed the intel to be true.
"Recently, we obtained intelligence that CEO Kwon was in Serbia, and it was found to be true," an official of the local prosecutors told the media. To bring Kwon back to South Korea, authorities are now seeking cooperation from the Serbian government.
Crash of Terra and the Probe of its Founders
Recall that the crash of the Terra ecosystem in May was one of the architects of the prevailing bear market ravaging the sphere.
According to reports, investors lost millions of assets to the crash, prompting interventions from numerous global investigators. The investigations surrounding the crash of the project started the probing of Do Kwon and his colleague, Daniel Shin.
Notably, South Korea is one of those countries that have continued to probe the project’s collapse.
Meanwhile, despite concerted efforts by authorities in South Korea, they have not been able to bring Do Kwon into the country for prosecution. Last September, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office’s Financial and Securities Criminal Unit in South Korea issued an arrest warrant against Kwon.
According to reports, Interpol also issued a “Red Notice” against the Terra co-founder but all to no avail. Recently, South Korea threatened Kwon to surrender his passport or risk its outright cancellation.
However, as South Korea continues its unrelenting efforts towards bringing Kwon into the country, it has also continued with the prosecution of Shin. A few weeks ago, South Korea’s Seoul Southern District Court approved the application by local prosecutors to freeze about US$104 million in assets belonging to the co-founder.
Later, Shin was detained by South Korean investigators and has been facing prosecution since then. The court, as reported, also upheld that Shin illegally amassed those assets through LUNA cryptocurrency. He denied the allegations, claiming that he left Terra and Do Kwon before the collapse.
South Korea is not the only country investigating the collapse of Terra and going after Do Kwon. Recently, the U.S. District Court in Northern California also commenced a class-action lawsuit against Do Kwon and Terraform.
At the time of writing, the price of Luna, Terra’s native token, sits at $0.0001658, down by 2.68% in 24 hours.
On the Flipside
- During an interview with journalist Laura Shin on her podcast Unchained last October, Do Kwon claimed that the South Korean prosecutors’ charges against him were politically motivated and not legitimate.
- According to him, each sovereign nation can interpret the Red Notice. Nevertheless, the Terra Labs co-founder said he intends to appeal and do everything he can to get a “better result.”
Why You Should Care
Terra-Luna’s collapse and FTX’s debacle brought down the whole cryptocurrency market this year. Because Sam Bankman-Fried and Do Kwon are still outside the authorities’ grasp, many people have lost faith in the space. However, crypto could gain a new boost if the people responsible are brought to justice.
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