Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon concluded 2024 with his extradition to the United States, Reuters reports. Kwon faces allegations of orchestrating a “multi-billion-dollar crypto asset securities fraud” tied to algorithmic stablecoins and other crypto asset securities.
Extradition and Charges
Kwon, who was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023, had been detained for over a year.
His arrest followed an Interpol “red notice” warrant issued six months earlier. He was caught attempting to board a flight using a forged passport.
The entrepreneur’s legal troubles extend to his home country of South Korea, where he is also wanted for similar charges. Between April and May 2022, Kwon and key Terraform Labs personnel fled South Korea for Singapore.
Terraform Labs Collapse
Terraform Labs, based in South Korea, was responsible for wiping out $40 billion from the crypto market when its TerraUSD and Luna stablecoins collapsed in May 2022. The instability of these coins exposed significant vulnerabilities in the crypto market. Notably, Kwon had already left South Korea before the collapse.
