Do Kwon, co-founder and CEO of Terraform Labs (Bloomberg) / Logo at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France, July 5, 2010. (AP/Laurent Cipriani)
Sometimes truth is just as strange as fiction and crime dramas play out in real life. Interpol issued a red notice for Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, which created the Luna and TerraUSD cryptocurrencies.
According to Interpol, “Red Notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.”
Kwon, 31, faces charges in South Korea after his coins experienced a $60 billion cryptocurrency collapse. Prosecutors allege Kwon violated the nation’s capital markets law, Bloomberg reported.
In a follow-up Bloomberg report, Kwon rejected the charges and said prosecutors demonstrated “unfairness and a failure to uphold basic rights guaranteed under Korean law.” He added there’s “no reasonable basis” for the accusations against him.
Kwon relocated to Singapore from South Korea earlier this year to be near his collapsed company’s base. However, his current location is unknown and authorities said he is not in Singapore.
The Terraform founder said he is not hiding, however. He said the case against him is “highly politicized.”
“Yeah as i said im making zero effort to hide,” Kwon tweeted on Monday, Sept. 26. “I go on walks and malls, no way none of CT hasnt run into me the past couple weeks.”
A Terraform Labs spokesperson reiterated the claims, saying Kwon “is not on the run and remains actively involved in the management and oversight of Terraform Labs.” The spokesperson added Kwon “is in contact with all government agencies that have asked to communicate with him.”
An algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD was supposed to be sustained by its link to the dollar, but the cryptocurrency imploded after many investors lost confidence in Kwon.
Before Terra’s collapse, the crypto founder didn’t have the best reputation when it came to dealing with critics. In July, he disparaged British economist Frances “Cassandra” Coppola, who debated another Twitter user over the risks of DeFi.
“I don’t debate the poor on Twitter, and sorry I don’t have any change on me for her at the moment,” Kwon responded.
According to Markets Insider, it wasn’t an isolated incident as Kwon often called his critics poor.
There are five other individuals prosecutors are looking to arrest in addition to Kwon in the case. The crypto entrepreneur continues to maintain his innocence publicly.
“What has been probably the most surprising in all this is the amount of misinformation that gets spread,” Kwon tweeted on Tuesday, Sept. 27. “There is no ‘cashout’ as alleged, i havent used kucoin or okex in at least the last year, and no funds of tfl, lfg or any other entities have been frozen.”
