South Korean prosecutors freeze $40 million worth of crypto assets of Terraform Labs CEO

What’s new? South Korean prosecutors have frozen nearly $40 million worth of cryptocurrency assets, including bitcoins, belonging to Do Kwon, the head of Terraform Labs (TFL). According to a local media report, the seizure was made in cooperation with crypto exchanges Kucoin and OKX, through which Kwon tried to withdraw assets.

Information on the News1 website

Kwon’s response. On his Twitter account, the head of TFL responded to CoinDesk’s publication by denying involvement in the seized assets, noting that he does not use the KuCoin and OKX exchanges and does not “get the motivation behind spreading this falsehood.” Kwon added:

“Once again, I don’t even use Kucoin and OKEx, have no time to trade, and no funds have been frozen. I don’t know whose funds they’ve frozen, but good for them, hope they use it for good.”

I don't get the motivation behind spreading this falsehood - muscle flexing? But to what end?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— Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) October 5, 2022

What else is known about the situation? According to News1, the assets Kwon transferred to the exchanges belong to the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG), a non-profit organization created to support the Terra blockchain ecosystem.

As part of the investigation into the Terra collapse, South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for Kwon on September 14. In its investigation, CoinDesk alleges that almost immediately thereafter, between September 15 and 18, $65,8 million in bitcoin was transferred from the LFG’s wallet, created on the Binance exchange, to Kucoin and OKX platforms. Kucoin almost immediately froze the suspicious funds at the request of law enforcement.

In late September, Interpol put Kwon on the international wanted list. The head of TFL himself claimed that he was not hiding from the authorities, and they also made no attempts to contact him.

TFL later accused the South Korean prosecutor’s office of abuse of its power. The company described the case as “highly politicized,” and the actions of the authorities as unfair and left no opportunity to defend basic rights guaranteed by law.