Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_636001f1b20a6" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Do Kwon is facing three lawsuits in the US and one in Singapore </li>
 <li>The 31-year-old entrepreneur is set to lose his home country’s passport</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Do Kwon, Terraform Labs’ founder, shows up to select interviews calmly. He largely appears unfazed by the series of legal threats levied against him.



At the center of several accusations over his failed stablecoin <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/terrausd/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TerraUSD</a>, Kwon claims he isn’t aware of an international arrest warrant in his name and doesn’t believe Interpol is really after him. 



TerraUSD (UST) lost its peg in May as wealthy investors dumped their deposits. A bank-like run followed, causing <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/luna/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sister token luna</a> to also crash, leading to a combined $60 billion wipeout as confidence in the projects vanished.



It took some time for players in the industry to absorb the impact on their businesses. For instance, Singapore-based crypto lender Hodlnaut <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-lender-hodlnaut-freezes-withdrawals-pulls-singapore-application/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">froze withdrawals</a> on its platform in early August. But the firm revealed only some 10 days later that it was <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-lender-hodlnaut-cuts-80-of-staff-amid-police-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TerraUSD’s crash that triggered</a> high volumes of withdrawals. 



Now, it’s reported to have <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/business/s-pore-based-crypto-lender-hodlnaut-lost-nearly-2685m-in-terrausd-collapse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lost nearly $190 million</a> from the fallout.



South Korean prosecutors almost immediately opened investigations into Terraform Labs and blocked employees from leaving the country. Kwon, who claims to be cooperating with authorities, has remained silent about his whereabouts. While he’s believed to be living in Singapore, a recent <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-20/south-korea-says-report-do-kwon-transited-via-dubai-not-false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> indicated he was in Dubai for a layover.



In an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgYSJVC7Ps8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interview</a> with crypto journalist Laura Shin, Kwon hinted at his plans for the future:



“I plan to be working on things that are exciting to me. Once again, I am but 31. I still want to contribute. Definitely, all of these are going to be highly experimental…just for my fun in building them.”



The potential for Kwon to fail upwards — or even sideways — and remain in the crypto industry is certainly real. Still, the entrepreneur will have to grapple with these legal challenges moving forward:



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Lawsuits in US courts</h3>



US law firms Scott+Scott and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/class-action-suit-accuses-terraform-labs-of-deceiving-investors/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bragger Eagle &amp; Squire</a> filed similar class-action lawsuits, in June and July respectively, against Kwon and other affiliates on behalf of Terra investors.



The lawsuits claimed that the defendants participated in the sale of unregistered securities and that Terraform Labs deceived retail investors by inducing them to purchase tokens at artificially inflated prices.&nbsp;



A separate New York <a href="https://www.docdroid.net/NWxHwHJ/albright-v-terraform-labs-pte-ltd-et-al-nysdce-22-07281-00010-2-pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suit</a> by plaintiff Matthew Albright on Aug. 25 argued the UST stablecoin amounted to a Ponzi scheme that was only supported by high yields of the Anchor protocol.



“Defendants engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity to support and profit off their scheme, namely by making fraudulent statements through interstate wire transmissions regarding Terra’s sustainability, and by laundering money out of Terraform Labs and into personal accounts,” Albright said in the lawsuit.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. South Korea issues arrest warrant for Kwon</h3>



Four months after the Terra ecosystem’s collapse, South Korean prosecutors put out <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/south-korea-issues-arrest-warrant-for-terra-ceo-do-kwon-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arrest warrants</a> for Kwon and other employees including head of research Nicholas Platias and staff member Han Mo in mid-September.



They are wanted for charges relating to violations of capital market laws.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Interpol issues red notice for Do Kwon</h3>



In late September, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/do-kwon-mocks-interpol-red-notice/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Interpol issued</a> a global request — called a red notice — to locate and arrest Kwon.



The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office confirmed the development after issuing arrest warrants for multiple Terraform insiders.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. TerraUSD investors claim damages worth $57 million in Singapore lawsuit</h3>



According to a <a href="https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/221028-HCOC2472022-StatementofClaimdated23.09.2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">document</a> shared by the Wall Street Journal this weekend, some 369 investors filed a lawsuit against Do Kwon in Singapore, claiming to have lost about $57 million from TerraUSD’s collapse.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="188" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Terra-Lawsuit-Do-Kwon-1-300x188.jpg" alt="Terra Lawsuit Do Kwon" class="wp-image-36375" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Terra-Lawsuit-Do-Kwon-1-300x188.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Terra-Lawsuit-Do-Kwon-1-300x188.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Terra-Lawsuit-Do-Kwon-1-300x188.jpg?w=411 411w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Terra-Lawsuit-Do-Kwon-1-300x188.jpg?w=418 418w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Terra-Lawsuit-Do-Kwon-1-300x188.jpg?w=350 350w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Terra-Lawsuit-Do-Kwon-1-300x188.jpg?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Terra-Lawsuit-Do-Kwon-1-300x188.jpg?w=50 50w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Terra-Lawsuit-Do-Kwon-1-300x188.jpg?w=800 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Source: Lawsuit filed in Singapore high court via the Wall Street Journal</figcaption></figure></div>


The lawsuit, filed Sept. 23, alleges Kwon made “fraudulent misrepresentations” about TerraUSD’s stability and was explicitly aware of the stablecoin’s “structural weakness.” It references Kwon’s Singapore Employment pass, a work visa issued by the local labor ministry permitting foreign professionals to live and work in the city-state.  



Lead claimants are Australian resident Julian Moreno Beltran, who owned about $1.1 million worth of TerraUSD, and Singapore citizen Douglas Gan Yi Dong.&nbsp;



The claimants are looking to reclaim their money and seeking unspecified “aggravated damages.”&nbsp;



Aside from Kwon, other defendants in the suit are Terraform Labs, Platias and the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/luna-foundation-guard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luna Foundation Guard</a>.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. Passport nullification</h3>



The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Oct. 5 ordered Kwon to return his passport. If he chooses not to return the document, his passport will be invalidated, and traveling to South Korea would be difficult.



He has just a <a href="https://forkast.news/south-korea-indicates-fugitive-do-kwons-passport-still-valid-his-location-unknown/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">few days</a> to return the document until it is automatically voided. It doesn’t seem like Kwon cares much about losing it, though. In his interview with Laura Shin, he said: “I’m not using it anyway. I can’t see how that makes a difference.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

5 Legal Threats Do Kwon Faces Since Terra’s Collapse

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_633e8d74adad9" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Local media repeatedly report Kwon’s assets have been frozen</li>
 <li>Kwon labeled the news as “muscle flexing” in a tweet on Wednesday, despite on-chain evidence</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Controversial crypto figure Do Kwon pushed back against reports Wednesday claiming prosecutors in South Korea had frozen tens of millions of dollars in crypto belonging to him.



<a href="https://www.news1.kr/articles/?4823515" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Local media</a> have placed the latest freeze at roughly 56.2 billion won ($39.9 million) in various digital assets including bitcoin, based on estimates from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors&#8217; Joint Financial Securities Crime Investigation Team.



Kwon has labeled the news as “muscle flexing.” The CEO’s exact whereabouts are currently unknown, and an <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/global-wanted-persons-notice-for-do-kwon-issued-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Interpol red notice</a> has been issued requesting his arrest. 



He has maintained he is <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/where-in-the-world-is-do-kwon-terra-ceo-says-im-not-on-the-run/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not in hiding</a> and has also <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/do-kwon-mocks-interpol-red-notice/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rebuffed Interpol claims</a>, noting he can be found coding in his living room — wherever that may be.&nbsp;



The latest back-and-forth between local authorities and Kwon follows reports last month that South Korean authorities had requested local crypto exchanges OKX (previously known as OKEx) and KuCoin freeze a total of 3,313 bitcoin ($67.3 million) allegedly belonging to the CEO, a day after the red notice was issued.



&#8220;Once again, I don&#8217;t even use Kucoin and OkEx, have no time to trade, no funds have been frozen,&#8221; the CEO said <a href="https://twitter.com/stablekwon/status/1577639160692854784" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in his tweet</a> on Wednesday. I don&#8217;t know whose funds they&#8217;ve frozen, but good for them, hope they use it for good.&#8221;



Kwon took the opportunity to <a href="https://twitter.com/stablekwon/status/1577644770859491328" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cast aspersions</a> on the current political party in power in Seoul, implying they were responsible for jailing opposing politicians.



“It&#8217;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,” he tweeted.



The CEO, whose <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/terra" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">failed stablecoin project</a> has been blamed for crypto’s recent turmoils and $40 billion in losses, is also wanted by local police along with former employees.



In September, a court issued the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office six <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/south-korea-issues-arrest-warrant-for-terra-ceo-do-kwon-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arrest warrants</a> for former employees, including Kwon and financial officer Han Mo, alleging they had breached securities and capital markets law.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">On-chain analysis aligns with prosecutors&#8217; allegations</h3>



Bitcoin transactions are pseudonymous, but the immutable record of the blockchain makes funds easy to trace.



<a href="https://oxt.me/graph/transaction/tiid/4080396134" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">On-chain analysis</a> conducted by OXT Research appears to confirm the link between the frozen exchange assets and the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG), set up by Do Kwon ostensibly <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/luna-foundation-guard-to-support-struggling-ust-peg-with-btc-reserves/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">to defend the UST peg</a>.



The LFG pointed to a wallet address controlling 313 BTC, in <a href="https://twitter.com/LFG_org/status/1574882188075606059" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a Sept. 28 tweet</a>, asserting that “LFG hasn’t created any new wallets or moved $BTC or other tokens held by LFG since May 2022.”



OXT Research disputes that.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">LFG has claimed their ONLY wallet is currently funded with 313 BTC. But the blockchain tells a different story. <a href="https://t.co/PrHWjhi9xQ">pic.twitter.com/PrHWjhi9xQ</a>&mdash; 🏴∴Ergo∴🏴 (@ErgoBTC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ErgoBTC/status/1577732461257232385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The “trail of bread crumbs” links the funding of the LFG’s publicly declared walled with a massive stash of bitcoins on the two exchanges.



“Since September 15, this sequence has distributed about $65mm worth of BTC as of the date of the respective deposits to Kucoin and OkEx,” OXT Research <a href="https://twitter.com/ErgoBTC/status/1577732498783715350?s=20&amp;t=zk59BE7M1omPEGSyI-ngEg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> on Twitter, adding, “My quick estimate of $65mm roughly corresponds with the values quoted in the Korean press last week.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">If this analysis were incorrect, we would expect to see a large whale/OTC/etc complaining of unjustly seized funds.&mdash; 🏴∴Ergo∴🏴 (@ErgoBTC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ErgoBTC/status/1577732503636525063?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



If Do Kwon&#8217;s claims are true, and the Kucoin- and OKX-held assets are not connected to the LFG, then the question remains: Whose bitcoins were frozen?



Macauley Peterson contributed reporting.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Do Kwon Refutes Claims of $40M in Frozen Crypto

<div id="highlights-block_63354d60b704f" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Terraform Labs declined to provide Do Kwon’s location due to physical security risks, it says</li>
 <li>Prosecutors in Seoul are being unfair, the spokesman said</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



South Korean prosecutors have been on the lookout for Terraform Labs (TFL) founder Do Kwon, since the collapse of Terra’s stablecoins, over his alleged role in breaching capital-markets laws.&nbsp;



TFL is now making its stance clear that it believes the LUNA token was never a security, implying that the cryptocurrency shouldn’t be considered illegal under the charges prosecutors are taking into account.



LUNA is the native token of the Terra blockchain and was previously integral to the issuance of Terra stablecoins, notably Terra USD (UST), though a process of seigniorage.



A spokesman for the firm told the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/crypto-fugitive-do-kwons-firm-accuses-korean-prosecutors-of-overreach-11664394082" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wall Street Journal</a> on Wednesday that the case has become “highly politicized” and that South Korean prosecutors are displaying “unfairness and a failure to uphold basic rights.” 



A court granted prosecutors <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/south-korea-issues-arrest-warrant-for-terra-ceo-do-kwon-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arrest warrants</a> for Do Kwon and other key TFL insiders earlier this month, but detainment would be difficult as they were all believed to be living in Singapore. However, Singapore police said Do Kwon was no longer living there. 



Interpol, an international law enforcement organization, has now issued a Red Notice — or wanted persons notice — for the Terra founder.



Despite numerous efforts by various agencies to detain him, Do Kwon claims he <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/do-kwon-mocks-interpol-red-notice/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">isn’t on the run</a>. He has said in tweets that he goes on walks and visits malls, and claimed he received no notice from the Interpol. “I’m making zero effort to hide,” he said.



But the Terra spokesman declined to furnish details on Do Kwon’s whereabouts, saying the matter is private due to physical security concerns for him and his family, according to The Journal. He also claimed unidentified efforts to break in at the crypto entrepreneur’s residences in South Korea and Singapore.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Dear CT &#8211; I will tell you what i am doing and where i am if: 1) we are friends 2) we have plans to meet 3) we are involved in a gps based web3 game Otherwise you have no business knowing my gps coordinates&mdash; Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) <a href="https://twitter.com/stablekwon/status/1571197150863695872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Terraform’s claim that LUNA isn’t a security cannot easily be disputed, since the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins is still undefined at this point. The US Securities and Exchange Commission had reportedly been weighing <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-09/sec-investigating-ust-stablecoin-blowup-in-fresh-threat-to-terra" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">whether the firm broke the law</a> for securities and investment products, but the outcome of that investigation isn’t known yet. 



Terraform now suggests South Korean prosecutors have widened the scope of what constitutes a security to acknowledge complaints made in regard to <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/terra/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terra’s collapse</a>.  



The Seoul prosecutors’ office and Terraform Labs did not return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Terraform Labs Says LUNA Allegations are ‘Highly Politicized’

<div id="highlights-block_6332aa0c7091f" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The wanted Terra developer claimed he goes on walks and to malls</li>
 <li>Interpol Red Notice requests are typically not officially published</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Do Kwon, founder of the failed cryptocurrency Terra, is rebutting reports that the Interpol seeks his arrest.



South Korean authorities confirmed over the weekend that the Interpol <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/global-wanted-persons-notice-for-do-kwon-issued-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">issued a request</a> worldwide to locate and arrest him for charges relating to Terra’s collapse. 



But Do Kwon said in tweets on Monday that he was “<a href="https://twitter.com/stablekwon/status/1574444990209695745" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">writing code</a>” in his living room and “making zero effort to hide.” 



“I go on walks and malls,” he <a href="https://twitter.com/stablekwon/status/1574448432793538560" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>, adding that there was no chance the crypto Twitter community hadn’t run into him in the past few weeks.



He also suggested the Interpol hasn’t actually issued a Red Notice in his name. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">For something that has notice in the name it sure gives no notice Tried to search it here, found nothing: <a href="https://t.co/SuX3aIu6r6">https://t.co/SuX3aIu6r6</a>&mdash; Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) <a href="https://twitter.com/stablekwon/status/1574447199169019908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



A Red Notice can be used to prevent an individual from fleeing prior to an extradition request being issued. The fact that a target’s name may not appear on a publicly available list does not offer any clues as to its veracity, according to agency guidelines.



An Interpol spokesperson told Blockworks that the agency doesn’t comment on specific cases and individuals.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Please note separately that the majority of Red Notices are not made public and are restricted to law enforcement use only,” the spokesperson added.</blockquote>



Earlier this month, South Korean officials had issued <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/south-korea-issues-arrest-warrant-for-terra-ceo-do-kwon-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arrest warrants</a> for the 31-year-old crypto founder and his key associates. They were believed to be residing in Singapore at the time. His Twitter bio also shows Singapore as his location. But Singapore police say Do Kwon is no longer there. 



Addressing reports about his potential arrest, Do Kwon said he was “not on the run” and that he was open to cooperating with authorities interested in communicating. “We are in the process of defending ourselves in multiple jurisdictions — we have held ourselves to an extremely high bar of integrity, and look forward to clarifying the truth over the next few months,” he said.



Do Kwon will have to be repatriated to South Korea if he is arrested anywhere else. Singapore doesn’t feature on South Korea’s <a href="https://www.shinkim.com/attachment/23157" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">list of 31 countries</a> with which it maintains bilateral extradition treaties. That means unless the Terraform founder gives himself up for prosecution, he can buy time and avoid arrest if he is indeed in the city-state.



In an <a href="https://www.coinage.media/s1/inside-cryptos-largest-collapse-with-terras-do-kwon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interview</a> with Coinage last month, Do Kwon said it was “kind of hard” to go back to South Korea because he wasn’t in touch with investigators. “They&#8217;ve never charged us with anything. They haven&#8217;t reached out to us at all,” he said.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Do Kwon Mocks Interpol Red Notice

<div id="highlights-block_63314cc5a3fcf" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>A Red Notice is a worldwide request to arrest a suspect from Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization</li>
 <li>Kwon was previously seen in Singapore, though authorities there deny he is no longer residing in the city-state</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Interpol has issued a global request to arrest Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-26/south-korea-says-interpol-issued-red-notice-for-terra-s-do-kwon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg reported</a>. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office confirmed the development Sunday after it requested Interpol issue him a Red Notice at the beginning of last week.



A <a href="https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Notices/Red-Notices" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Red Notice</a>, while not the same as an arrest warrant, is a request at the behest of a member country to law enforcement worldwide for the location and arrest of an individual pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.



Kwon, rumored to have been living in Singapore after leaving his home country of South Korea, is wanted for charges relating to his involvement in Terra’s collapse earlier this year.



South Korean prosecutors said last week Kwon was “<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/where-in-the-world-is-do-kwon-terra-ceo-says-im-not-on-the-run/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">obviously on the run</a>” from authorities and was refusing to cooperate. Kwon later denied those claims in a series of tweets, saying at the time he did not “have anything to hide.”



Earlier this month and more than four months after Terra’s implosion, a South Korean court issued a national warrant for his arrest, leading to the request by prosecutors to Interpol.



At the beginning of May, aggressive liquidations created a hyperinflationary <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/vaneck-casts-doubt-on-do-kwons-rescue-plan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">death spiral</a> for Terra’s LUNA token and UST, wiping out nearly $30 billion from the Terra ecosystem and a further $30 billion from the wider crypto market.



Terra’s collapse sent a seismic contagion shockwave throughout the crypto market in May, triggering billions of dollars in losses across its ecosystem as well as across projects, lenders and hedge funds.



“In hindsight, I think we should have been more skeptical,” Kwon said during an interview with <a href="https://www.coinage.media/watch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinage</a> last month. At the time, the founder blamed a leak from within his company that ultimately led to the stablecoin’s downward spiral.



The failed algorithmic stablecoin project has also drawn additional attention to the industry from lawmakers in the EU and US, who have since crafted <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/eu-members-reach-agreement-on-mica/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">legislation</a> designed, they say, to reduce or prevent further stablecoin harm.



“INTERPOL cannot compel the law enforcement authorities in any country to arrest someone who is the subject of a Red Notice,” an agency <a href="https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Notices/Red-Notices" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FAQ</a> reads.



Whether the global notice results in Do Kwon’s arrest will depend on his actual location and the local authorities’ willingness to act on it.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.