Terra LUNA Founder Do Kwon Charged With Fraud, Market Manipulation, And Fraud

JAKARTA - In the midst of the increasing popularity of digital assets, especially in the field of cryptocurrencies, the government and supervisory bodies are increasingly intensively protecting investors from fraudulent acts. This was proven by the arrest of the founder of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, whose two tokens were UST and LUNA fell more than 99 percent in May 2022.

Hours after Kwon's arrest at Pdgorica airport, Montenegri, a federal prosecutor in New York has filed charges against Kwon. A 12-page indictment from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York shows that Kwon faces eight counts, including conspiracy to cheat.

Then, Kwon was also threatened with two charges of fraud or fraud in the commodity sector, two charges of fraud in the securities sector, two charges of fraud through transfer, as well as conspiracy to deceive and manipulate the market.

Not only that, but the US government also requested the confiscation of Kwon's assets related to the alleged offense. The indictment, which has been signed by US Prosecutor Damian Williams, requires Kwon to hand over property and other assets.

"The defendant must submit to the United States... any and all property, both real and personal, which is or comes from results that can be traced to commit such violations, including but is not limited to some amount of money in the United States currency representing the amount of results that can be traced to commit these violations," the indictment reads, quoted by DailyHodl.

Kwon became a fugitive after Terra (LUNA) tokens and TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin fell to zero rupiah. The collapse of LUNA and UST caused losses of more than US$40 billion (around Rp. 606 trillion).

According to a CBS News report, Montenegro police arrested Kwon while trying to board a plane to Dubai using a fake Costa Rica passport. Interior Minister Montenegro, Filip Adzic, announced the arrest via Twitter and South Korean authorities later confirmed the crypto fugitive's identity based on photo data and fingerprint information.

Kwon is currently being held in Montenegro. Meanwhile, the country from Kwon, South Korea, is currently seeking the extradition of the Terra LUNA founder to be followed up legally.