Terraform Labs Pte co-founder Do Kwon sent 9 billion won ($7 million) to a top South Korean law firm just before the collapse of the firm’s stablecoin terra and cryptocurrency luna, according to South Korean prosecutors, KBS News reported.
(Bloomberg) — Terraform Labs Pte co-founder Do Kwon sent 9 billion won ($7 million) to a top South Korean law firm just before the collapse of the firm’s stablecoin terra and cryptocurrency luna, according to South Korean prosecutors, KBS News reported.
Sending money to lawyers at Kim & Chang before the crash suggests Kwon was aware it was about to happen and expected legal problems, the news outlet said. Prosecutors believe that might help in their fraud case against Kwon, KBS said.
Lawyers from Kim & Chang, the largest law firm in South Korea, left for Montenegro a few days ago to meet with Kwon and Terraform’s former chief financial officer, Han Chang-joon, KBS said citing people familiar with the matter, without identifying them.
Kwon was charged by US prosecutors with orchestrating a yearslong cryptocurrency fraud that wiped out at least $40 billion in market value. He faces similar charges in South Korea.
Both countries are seeking Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro, where he is jailed. He and Han were arrested on March 23 in the former Yugoslav republic as they tried to fly to Dubai using falsified travel documents, authorities have said.
A judge will decide whether Kwon will be extradited to the US or South Korea, Montenegro’s justice minister said, but the Terraform Labs co-founder may first have to serve time in the Balkan state if he’s convicted of traveling on fake documents.
Law enforcement in Singapore is also investigating the source of funds sent to Kim & Chang, according to KBS. If Kwon liquidated illicit cryptocurrency assets to pay lawyers, embezzlement charges can be brought, the news outlet said. Authorities from both Singapore and South Korea are attempting to seize the funds, KBS said.
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