See More

Terra LUNA CEO Is Reportedly Living in Europe

3 mins
Updated by Ryan James
Join our Trading Community on Telegram

In Brief

  • Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon is currently operating out of Europe, according to Korean prosecution.
  • Kwon's passport has been revoked by the Seoul foreign ministry.
  • Investigators have found evidence that Kwon manipulated the price of the LUNA token.
  • promo

South Korean publication KBS reports that Terra LUNA CEO Do Kwon is currently living in Europe, despite having his passport invalidated by South Korea’s foreign ministry.

Kwon had reportedly fled to the unknown European location via Dubai before his passport was invalidated.

Kwon ignores foreign ministry request

The revelation of Kwon’s alleged whereabouts comes almost a month after Seoul’s foreign ministry said that Kwon had two weeks to return his passport. If he didn’t comply, they would revoke the passport. Accordingly, the move would have forced Kwon to return to South Korea and face charges of capital markets law violation, together with several other employees of Terraform Labs.

Earlier this year, South Korean prosecutors of the Seoul Southern District launched a global manhunt for Kwon after the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin and its sister token, LUNA, in May 2022. 

TerraUSD was an algorithmic stablecoin. This means it didn’t rely on a reserve of assets to maintain a value of $1. Instead, it depended on algorithms, trading incentives, and a supply-and-demand relationship with LUNA. Traders could earn up to 20% annual percentage return (APR) by investing TerraUSD in Terraform Labs’ crypto bank, Anchor protocol.

Upon request from South Korean officials, Interpol has issued a Red Notice for Kwon, which is not an international arrest warrant. Rather, it allows law enforcement in one of Interpol’s 195 member countries to provisionally arrest an individual for extradition, surrender, or another legal action.

Kwon manipulated the price of LUNA

According to KBS, South Korean prosecutors have secured evidence that Kwon manipulated the price of LUNA. They obtained access to a conversation between Kwon and a former Terraform Labs employee. In the discussion, Kwon ordered the employee to participate in the manipulation.

“I can’t reveal the details, but it was a conversation history where CEO Kwon specifically ordered price manipulation,” said a South Korean prosecution official.

Previously, a representative for Kwon had denied these allegations.

Kwon brags about “creative period”

Still, Kwon seems relatively unfazed and has continued to write code for the Terra 2.0 blockchain. After the collapse of the original ecosystem, he launched Terra 2.0 as a fork of the original network. The new blockchain has new LUNA and TerraUSD tokens, while the old chain’s tokens have been rebranded as LUNC and USTC.

On Nov. 3, 2022, Kwon said that he had had an unprecedented opportunity for creative expression in recent weeks:

According to a thread by Bybit researcher IAN, Kwon has proposed an idea to reduce the engineering overhead of launching a layer one blockchain. The idea proposes making the launch as easy as deploying a smart contract. Additionally, the Terra CEO has also put forward ideas for improving the security of L1s using “interchain alliances.” 

Kwon had previously denied being on the run, saying that he and Terraform Labs had nothing to hide.

Later, in Oct. 2022, he claimed in an interview on the Unchained podcast that those leveling charges against him had a political agenda and apologized to Terra’s bereft investors.

Terra LUNA
Source: TradingView

Amidst Do Kwon’s evasions, LUNC is currently trading at $0.00022148. It has not recovered significantly from the collapse earlier this year. On the other hand, LUNA is trading at $2.40 and is down 87% from its all-time high.

Got something to say about Do Kwon or anything else? Write to us or join the discussion on our Telegram channel. You can also catch us on Tik Tok, Facebook, or Twitter.For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here.

Top crypto platforms in the US | March 2024
Coinbase Coinbase Explore →
AlgosOne AlgosOne Explore →
Chain GPT Chain GPT Explore →
iTrustCapital iTrustCapital Explore →

Trusted

Disclaimer

In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content. Please note that our Terms and ConditionsPrivacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.

David-Thomas.jpg
David Thomas
David Thomas graduated from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in Durban, South Africa, with an Honors degree in electronic engineering. He worked as an engineer for eight years, developing software for industrial processes at South African automation specialist Autotronix (Pty) Ltd., mining control systems for AngloGold Ashanti, and consumer products at Inhep Digital Security, a domestic security company wholly owned by Swedish conglomerate Assa Abloy. He has experience writing software in C,...
READ FULL BIO
Sponsored
Sponsored