Key Takeaways
- The news of Interpol and South Korean authorities issuing a red notice and arrest warrant against Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has been in the eyes of many crypto stakeholders and enthusiasts.
- Even with Kwon breaking his silence over not being in hiding, recent developments have had prosecutors in South Korea charging Kwon with financial fraud and violating the country's capital market laws.
The news of Interpol and South Korean authorities issuing a red notice and arrest warrant against Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has been in the eyes of many crypto stakeholders and enthusiasts. Even with Kwon breaking his silence over not being in hiding, recent developments have had prosecutors in South Korea charging Kwon with financial fraud and violating the country's capital market laws. They recently moved to seize his assets on suspicion of breaching securities rules.
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Retail investors become vigilantes in the hunt for crypto’s most wanted man
Confident investors who were direct victims of Do Kwon's cryptocurrency operator Terraform Labs' $40 billion collapse have chosen to take action into their own hands.Kang Hyung-suk, an investor who formerly worked in Seoul, is currently seeking retaliation after this incident damaged his faith in cryptocurrencies. In ten days, Kang plans to travel to Dubai, the capital of the crypto-supportive United Arab Emirates. According to him, he thinks Kwon is hiding there and that locating him might be simpler than expected.
The 26-year-old software engineer is not alone on this hunt, as 4,400 other cryptocurrency investors are looking for Kwon. They are all members of the UST Restitution Group, a group of cryptocurrency investors dedicated to tracking down Kwon, who is wanted in South Korea on suspicion of financial fraud.
This passion for sniffing out Kwon was further expressed when Kang declared that he intended to enlist other participants in the quest. He stated that there was a half-and-half probability of finding him in Dubai.
While some individual investors work to recoup from the severe losses incurred due to the crash of their terraUSD and luna coins in May, the search for Kwon isn't slowing down internationally.
Investors have filed class action lawsuits in the US and Singapore against Kwon. As we mentioned earlier, Interpol has also red-flagged him. On Wednesday, South Korea is anticipated to withdraw Kwon's passport.
In a recent interview on the cryptocurrency podcast Unchained, Kwon asserted that the accusations against him are both politically driven and illegitimate. He apologised to the people harmed by the failure of his blockchain technology and stated that he was submitting the documents that South Korean prosecutors had requested.
He dismissed the claims but cited security reasons for not saying where he was. Authorities in South Korea claim that Singapore was his last seen location at the end of April.
Discord, a social messaging service, is what URG members use to exchange information on Kwon and his business while scouring the internet for hints regarding his location. Members have speculated that Kwon may be anywhere, including Dubai, Russia, Azerbaijan, Seychelles, or Mauritius.
A South Korean court earlier this month denied the prosecution's application to obtain an arrest warrant for Kwon's close assistant, who oversaw Terraform Labs' commercial operations. The court questioned whether TerraUSD and Luna met the requirements for investment securities under the nation's capital market act.
Terraform Labs promised to keep in touch with law enforcement but accused South Korean prosecutors of talking to the media.
What do you think are the chances of the UST Restitution Group successfully finding Kwon? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section.
