DO Kwon is wanted in South Korea, Singapore and the United States
Interpol has confirmed the arrest of crypto fugitive Do Kwon in Montenegro. Do Kwon was the founder of Terraform Labs who created the Terra Stablecoin (UST). Terra was an algorithmic stablecoin that worked in combination with LUNA token.
In May 2022, Terra lost its peg, which resulted in the Terra LUNA crash that wiped out $40 billion from the crypto market and set off a wave of panic across the industry.
After investigation, it was confirmed by South Korean officials that Do Kown intentionally manipulated the token for personal gains which led to a huge surge in the supply of UST tokens that ultimately led to the crash.
UST was nothing but a Ponzi scheme. A large sum of UST was dumped into the market, which initially led to the fall of LUNA token.
This event started a chain of panic selling among the UST investors who stored their deposits on Anchor protocol to earn higher rewards.
The authorities have confirmed Do Kwon identity after matching his fingerprints. Montenegro Internal Affair minister Filip Adžić wrote on social media (Facebook) –
“He was arrested at the airport with counterfeit documentation and is wanted by several countries, including the USA, South Korea, and Singapore”.
Kwon was based in Singapore and ran Terraform Labs before running away to Serbia via Dubai, days after the token collapse.
Terra LUNA collapse kickstarted the crypto winters which includes the fall of FTX exchange.
It is believed that Do Kwon will be extradited to South Korea for the trial. He is already been charged with fraud by US Prosecutors in New York.
He is charged with eight separate counts of fraud, including commodities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud and engage in market manipulation.
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Paras is a blockchain writer & video creator at Katoch Tubes. In his free time, he loves watching space exploration documentaries & Hollywood movies.