Do Kwon’s Illicit Funds Reportedly Not in South Korea
- The now arrested Terraform Labs CEO had reportedly converted the majority of his illicit funds into BTC using foreign exchanged not under the jurisdiction of South Korea.
- While none of the assets tied to Do Kwon were recoverable, South Korean authorities continue to seize assets and properties tied to other executives of Terra.
Shutterstock
South Korean prosecutors have found that the assets tied to Do Kwon, the founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, were not recoverable as they had been converted to Bitcoin (BTC), local news outlet KBS reported on 7 April.
According to the publication, the prosecutor’s investigation identified nine executives of Terraform Labs that had made close to 414.5 billion won ($315 million) in illicit assets from the enterprise. The South Korean prosecutors, however, found “almost none” of the 91.4 billion won ($70 million) that was directly connected to Do Kwon as it was not under the jurisdiction of the South Korean authorities.
The now arrested Do Kwon reportedly converted the majority of his illicit funds into BTC through overseas crypto exchanges instead of investing in physical assets in the country. The South Korean authorities continue to actively trace any assets and properties associated with Terra executives as a way to recover some of the funds lost during the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.
Earlier this week, prosecutors confiscated around $160 million worth of assets from eight individuals connected to former Terra executives — including former Terra Vice President Kim Mo — mainly in the form of real estate. The moved was reportedly aimed at preventing the former employees from disposing of the assets in an attempt to avoid being part of potential criminal proceedings.
Do Kwon was on the run from authorities ever since the Terra debacle, and was finally arrested in Montenegro on 23 March. Only hours after Kwon was detained, U.S. federal prosecutors charged the Terra executive with eight counts of fraud and conspiracy to engage in market manipulation. Now both the U.S. and South Korea have requested the extradition of Kwon.
- A district court in South Korea ruled that the token was not a security, noting that it was “difficult to see LUNA as financial investment product regulated by the Capital Markets Act”.
- Using this decision, the court dismissed the prosecution’s request to confiscate properties owned by Terraform Labs’ co-founder Hyun-seung Shin.
Shutterstock
- Do Kwon was charged with conspiracy to defraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to engage in market manipulation.
- A spokesperson for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which brought the charges against Do Kwon, said the Department of Justice (DoJ) will seek his extradition.
- A person suspected to be Terra founder Do Kwon was arrested at the airport in Montenegro’s capital city of Podgorica with “falsified documents”.
- South Korean authorities have confirmed the individual was Do Kwon based on “photo data”, name, age, and nationality, but are still waiting for fingerprint information.