South Korea Freezes $176M Worth of Crypto and Luxury Items Belonging to Do Kwon (Report)

The Seoul Southern District Court reportedly honored the prosecutors’ request to freeze 233.3 billion won in assets (approximately $176 million) personally owned by the notorious co-founder of Terraform Labs – Do Kwon. Besides cryptocurrencies, the authorities have blocked his access to his house in Southern Seoul, studio flat in Nonhyun-don, expensive cars, and certain money deposits.

Prosecutors have also insisted Kwon be extradited to South Korea and face justice for his alleged role in the infamous Terra crash that affected multiple investors last year. He could receive a maximum prison sentence of 40 years if convicted in his homeland. 

More Trouble for Kwon

As reported by a local media outlet, the Korean magistrates froze the aforementioned assets to prevent the 31-year-old developer from selling them before the upcoming trial, which will determine whether he obtained them through criminal activity. 

The nearly $176 million worth of assets consists of digital currencies, luxurious vehicles, a property in Galleria Forêt, a studio in the high-end residential area Nonhyun-dong, securities at brokerage firm Mirae Asset, and money deposits at Woori Bank.

It is worth noting that Kwon has other belongings that the Seoul Southern District Court did not freeze.

The developer, who has supposedly been on the run for several months right after the LUNA/UST collapse, was finally arrested in Montenegro in mid-March this year. He is currently held in a correctional facility in the Balkan country before being deported to another one to face justice.

Extradition to the USA or South Korea seems most likely. He could be sent to jail for over 100 years if found guilty in the States, whereas the maximum sentence in his homeland would be 40 years. 

Kwon’s Tricky Manoeuvres

The collapse of Terra’s native token – LUNA – and its algorithmic stablecoin – UST – one year back triggered multi-billion investor losses and sent shockwaves through the entire cryptocurrency industry. Nonetheless, Kwon – accused of being the main culprit behind the meltdown – managed to stay under the radar of law enforcement agencies and regulators for several months.

He allegedly used numerous nations, including the UAE, Russia, Mauritius, Singapore, and more, as hiding spots. Several sources indicated at the end of 2022 that Kwon could have moved to Europe, specifically Serbia. 

He was detained three months later in another Balkan nation – Montenegro. Interestingly, the arrest happened at the airport of the capital Podgorica while Kwon was carrying a forged Costa Rican passport: a move hinting that his next destination could have been the Central American country.

While Kwon was quite active on Twitter during the prime of his cryptocurrency project, he has reduced his activity to a minimum as of late. In one of his latest posts in November last year, he vowed to throw a conference and reveal his hiding location, saying police officers could attend the event.

However, he never kept that promise.