Terraform co-founder faces trial in South Korea

Terra co-founder Daniel Shin is facing trial in South Korea. A preliminary hearing was held in Seoul on July 10, as reported by South Korea’s News 1. 

Initially, the trial was set to take place on May 26 but was pushed back. Shin is being tried alongside seven former Terraform employees, according to the News 1 report. 

He was indicted in April on fraud charges and violating capital markets law. Prosecutors announced, at the time, that they had frozen over 246 billion won, or roughly $184 million USD in assets.

According to ChosunBiz, the next trial preparation date is August 28.

Shin, alongside Do Kwon, created Terraform Labs in 2018. The algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD, lost its peg to the US dollar in May 2022. As Terra crashed, it helped wipe $80 billion from crypto markets. 

It took until April 2023 for crypto markets to return to post-Terra collapse levels. 

Kwon is facing a four-month sentence in Montenegro for falsifying a passport. Both South Korea and the US have pushed to extradite Kwon after he serves his time in Montenegro. 

In early June, local media reported that Do Kwon had been placed in extradition custody as Montenegro mulled South Korea’s extradition request. The request, however, could take up to six months.  

South Korea issued an arrest warrant for Kwon in September, prior to his arrest in Montenegro.  
New York authorities charged Kwon with securities fraud in March, and Kwon also faces charges from the SEC.

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