Terra Founder Do Kwon Denies Assets Frozen by South Korean Authorities - Here's How Much
Do Kwon. Source: a video screenshot, Terra / YouTube
“No funds have been frozen,” claims Terra founder Do Kwon in response to reports that some $67m of his crypto has been put in a metaphorical freezer by South Korean authorities.
After reappearing on social media just days ago, and following a massive, now infamous collapse of the Terra / LUNA ecosystem – which fixed the eye of authorities firmly on Terra and crypto at large – Kwon took to Twitter to deny a report circulating online.
It is alleged that South Korean prosecutors have frozen ₩56.2 billion ($39.9 million) in cryptoassets, in addition to the already frozen ₩38.8 billion ($27.54 million), owned by Terra’s CEO Kwon Do-hyeong. “As a result, CEO Kwon could not use most of his ₩95 billion [$67.44 million] of hidden assets,” the local media outlet reported on Wednesday.
The report further claimed that, one day after the arrest warrant for Kwon was issued last month, the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) Foundation – established to raise funds to defend the price of Terra coins, the director of which is Kwon – created a wallet holding some 3,313 bitcoin (BTC) on crypto exchange Binance.
In the following three days, some $27.6 million worth of BTC was transferred from Binance to the crypto exchange KuCoin, and about 56.2 billion won to the OKX exchange, it claimed.
“KuCoin and OKX reportedly responded to Kwon's virtual asset freeze at the request of the prosecution,” said the article.
Kwon, however, denied these claims, writing that no funds have been frozen, and that he doesn’t use OKX and Kucoin.
He further suggested that the situation is being used for political purposes, writing: “It's no surprise that crypto is most popular in countries that weaponize state institutions against their own people for political gain. Reap what you sow - revolutions start from within.”
Meanwhile, Kwon has found himself in hot water with regulators and various authorities. In late September, as reported, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office’s Financial and Securities Crime Unit confirmed that Interpol had issued a Red Notice – a high-level request for global police officers to “locate and provisionally arrest” Kwon “pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.”
Five other Terraform executives, including the firm’s chief financial officer, were reported as added to the Interpol Red Notice list.
Local media outlets at the time said that prosecutors were “in the process of freezing” tokens “believed to be owned by Kwon.” These coins were reportedly held on an unnamed “overseas” crypto exchange that was “cooperating” with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office.
At the end of September, Kwon hit out at South Korean prosecutors, accusing them of morphing the legal definition of a security to kowtow to political pressures.
Kwon was also ordered on Wednesday to hand over his passport in 14 days, or it will be revoked.
Meanwhile, according to South Korean media outlet JTBC, prosecutors have requested the arrest of the head of general business operations at Terraform Labs with the surname Yu. This individual is accused of violating the country's Capital Markets Act by running bots to wash trade crypto and manipulate prices.
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Learn more:
- Victims of TerraUSD UST Collapse Speak Out – Will Do Kwon Be Arrested?
- MPs to Question Terra Co-founder Daniel Shin Amid Ongoing Investigation
- South Korean Prosecutors Turn to Interpol for Help in Hunt for Do Kwon
- South Korean Authorities to Void Do Kwon’s Passport and Expedite Deportation
