South Korean officials on Thursday initiated the process of revoking the passport of Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs. His company was responsible for the sudden collapse of a cryptocurrency market valued at $60 billion.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given Kwon until Oct. 19 to hand over his passport or risk having the travel document revoked.
South Korea Authorities vs. Kwon
After the failure of TerraUSD and Luna, which wiped billions of dollars off the market for cryptocurrencies and sent shockwaves throughout the sector, the conflict that has been brewing between Kwon and the authorities in South Korea continues to heat up. Kwon's company created both of those digital coins, which go by the name Terraform Labs.
Last month, South Korean officials attempted to arrest Kwon and stated he was currently on the run. The prosecution indicated that Kwon is the subject of a "Red Notice" issued by the international police organization, Interpol. Such a tag is either for trial or to serve a sentence.
Kwon, on the other hand, claimed he is not hiding from anyone despite the fact that his whereabouts are yet unknown.
The office of Seoul Southern District Prosecutors, who are currently pursuing Kwon, has charged him and five others with breaking the legislation governing capital markets and engaging in fraudulent activity.
The authorities also asked two different cryptocurrency exchanges, KuCoin and OKX, to put a hold on more than $60 million's worth of bitcoin associated with Kwon.
On Oct.5, Wednesday, the police froze ₩56.2 billion worth of digital assets belonging to Kwon, which is approximately $39.9 million.
The crypto founder, however, responded via a Twitter post, denying the allegations. He stated that no funds had been frozen.
I don't get the motivation behind spreading this falsehood - muscle flexing? But to what end?
— Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) October 5, 2022
Once again, I don't even use Kucoin and OkEx, have no time to trade, no funds have been frozen.
I don't know whose funds they've frozen, but good for them, hope they use it for good 🙏 https://t.co/gSucKfqsxj
No Sign of Do Kwon yet
Although Kwon has not yet been captured, CNBC reported that one person was taken into custody by the police on Thursday. The apprehended individual, with the surname Yu, is believed to have an involvement with Kwon's activities.
No arrest warrant has been issued yet, and if it is not provided within 48 hours, the person must be released.
The Fall of TerraUSD and Luna
In May, CNBC described Luna as "worthless."
Luna token hit zero value, indicating a shocking decline for the cryptocurrency that was worth more than $100 at one point.
Then, the collapse of the controversial stablecoin venture Terra caused a crisis in the crypto market, which resulted in the loss of value equivalent to billions of dollars in just one day.
The TerraUSD token is designed to have a one-to-one exchange rate with the US dollar. However, it lost its peg as it was trading at roughly 12 cents on Friday, according to CoinGecko's data at the time.
Related Article : USSD Stablecoin Dips Below $1 Peg - Is this a Terra Meltdown 2.0?
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
