Korean Prosecutors Seek an Arrest Warrant for Terraform’s Daniel Shin (Report)

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office reportedly sought arrest warrants for one of Terraform Labs’ Co-Founders – Shin Hyun-seung (Daniel Shin), claiming he gained illegal profits before the colossal crash of LUNA/UST.

The Korean authorities previously issued an arrest warrant against Terraform’s CEO – Do Kwon. His whereabouts remain unknown, while recent sources hinted he could be in Europe. 

Daniel Shin on the Spotlight, too

The spectacular collapse of Terra’s native token LUNA and its algorithmic stablecoin UST in May still echoes in the cryptocurrency space. The significant investor losses caused South Korea’s authorities to investigate the project’s executives’ actions and determine whether they had something to do with the events.

According to a recent coverage, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office issued an arrest warrant against Terraform’s Co-Founder – Daniel Shin – claiming he stored LUNA tokens without notifying the relevant watchdogs. He later allegedly gained illicit profit worth 140 billion won ($106 million) by selling the stash at a high price. The authorities seized those funds earlier in November.

The prosecutors also insisted that Shin violated the Electronic Financial Transaction Act by using clients’ data and funds of fintech firm Chai Corp. to advertise LUNA. 

The South Korean reiterated his stance that he cut ties with Terraform Labs after 2020, meaning he should not be blamed for the crash.

“I left (Terraform Labs) two years before the collapse of Terra and Luna and have nothing to do with the collapse.”

The Hunt for Do Kwon

Most of the attention after Terra’s meltdown turned to its notorious CEO – Do Kwon. The developer left South Korea shortly after the crash, and his location has been a mystery since then. 

Multiple sources hinted he was hiding in Singapore, Dubai, Seychelles, and Mauritius while Interpol issued a red notice for him. 

The most recent rumors indicated that Kwon could be residing in Europe. The developer promised to reveal his whereabouts at the beginning of the month and invited law enforcement agents to attend the conference. 

Apart from his alleged participation in the LUNA/UST crash, the South Korean authorities also investigated him for tax evasion. Prosecutors claimed Kwon gifted tokens to family members who later used those assets to buy apartments.