Do Kwon, the controversial co-founder of Terraform Labs, is officially on U.S. soil. After months of legal battles and international drama, Montenegro handed Kwon over to U.S. authorities on December 31.
Known for orchestrating one of the biggest disasters in crypto history, Kwon now faces the fallout from the $40 billion implosion of TerraUSD (UST) and its sister token, Luna. This collapse not only decimated investor funds but also crashed the global crypto market.
Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Milojko Spajic, confirmed the extradition in a post on X, calling it a testament to the country’s commitment to international justice. Kwon was arrested in Montenegro last year while trying to board a flight to Dubai with a fake passport. And that was the end of his ludicrous, and frankly quite dramatic, year-long run from authorities.
The implosion that rocked crypto
Terraform Labs launched TerraUSD as an algorithmic stablecoin designed to maintain a 1:1 peg to the U.S. dollar. Investors flocked to it, pouring billions into the project, lured by Kwon’s confident pitch and the promise of a revolutionary crypto product.
But in May 2022, UST lost its peg and Luna lost over 90% of its value in what was one of the largest financial collapses in history.
Investors lost $40 billion overnight. Hedge funds collapsed. High-profile firms like Three Arrows Capital and BlockFi filed for bankruptcy. Authorities wasted no time going after Kwon. South Korea issued a warrant for his arrest, but by then, he was on the run.
Facing the music
Now back in the U.S., Kwon is staring down eight criminal charges, including securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud investors.
Prosecutors allege that he knowingly misled investors about TerraUSD’s stability and how Terraform even worked. They accuse him of inflating the system’s value while hiding its vulnerabilities.
If convicted, Kwon could spend more than 100 years in prison. His situation isn’t much better in South Korea, where he’s facing a separate legal battle. Authorities there say if they get their hands on him, he would face up to 40 years behind bars for financial crimes related to the TerraUSD meltdown.
In April this year, a U.S. court found Terraform Labs and Kwon personally liable for fraud in a civil case brought by the SEC . The court ruled that Terraform’s crypto products were securities and that Kwon’s team misled investors.
The company agreed to pay $4.5 billion to settle the case. This included $3.58 billion in disgorgement, $466 million in prejudgment interest, and $420 million in civil penalties. Kwon himself was slapped with a $110 million penalty.
His personal fortune was once thought to be hundreds of millions of dollars. However, it has since been drained by lawsuits, fines, and legal fees.
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