The criminal fraud trial of Do Kwon, co-founder and former CEO of Terraform Labs, is tentatively set for January 2026 in the United States.
The timeline accounts for the processing of six terabytes of data as part of the discovery phase.
A Mountain of Evidence Against Do Kwon
During a hearing in Manhattan, prosecutors highlighted significant delays due to challenges in assessing the evidence. Prosecutors are reportedly trying to decrypt four phones obtained from Montenegrin authorities and translate key documents from Korean.
Lead prosecutor Jared Lenow explained that accessing encrypted information from these devices remains a primary obstacle. The phones were handed over when Kwon was extradited to the US on December 31, 2024.
Last week, Do Kwon entered a ‘not guilty’ plea to a nine-count indictment. The charges include securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.
These allegations come from the $40 billion collapse of the Terra/LUNA ecosystem in 2022.
“Terra Founder Do Kwon is now facing a maximum penalty of 130 years in prison. The criminal charges detailed in the DOJ’s 79-page indictment include new allegations that were not part of the SEC’s civil trial. The reason why this case is more interesting than the SBF/FTX case is because it more directly applies to crypto projects and founders experimenting in DeFi,” wrote Zack Guzmán, a journalist who previously interviewed Kwon.
Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro was finalized on New Year’s Eve after Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic approved the US request. The decision was based on legal criteria that favored American jurisdiction over South Korea.
Meanwhile, his trial is expected to be similar to FTX’s Sm Bankman-Fried. However, Kwon’s allegations are more severe, and the victim count is far higher than that of the FTX collapse.
Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year sentence. However, the Terraform Labs’ founder could face a stricter judgment if found guilty next year.
In June 2024, Terraform Labs reached a settlement with the SEC. The agreement required the company to pay $4.47 billion in penalties. This included $3.6 billion in disgorgement fines, $420 million in civil penalties, and $467 million in pre-judgment interest.
Kwon was also ordered to pay over $200 million personally, comprising $110 million in disgorgement, $80 million in civil penalties, and $14.3 million in interest.
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