Singapore authorities investigate Terraform Labs
Rebeca Moen Mar 07, 2023 09:04
Singaporean police have launched an investigation into Terraform Labs, the company co-founded by Do Kwon, who was accused of fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month. The SEC has alleged that Kwon laundered over $100m worth of bitcoin, which he had removed from the Terra platform, and converted to fiat.
Since Do Kwon and Terraform Labs were accused of engaging in fraudulent activity by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a month ago, the authorities in Singapore have begun an investigation into the firm that Kwon helped build, Terraform Labs. According to the allegations made in the action brought by the SEC, Kwon stole about 10,000 bitcoin from the Terra platform and the Luna Foundation Guard, which he then turned into fiat currency. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asserts that Kwon has cleaned more than one hundred million dollars' worth of bitcoins since the original collapse of the site.
An email issued by the Singaporean police on March 6 said that "investigations have began in respect to Terraform Laboratories," as stated in a report by Bloomberg. In addition, the email said that the investigations are "ongoing," and that Kwon is not in the city-state at the present time.
Several participants in the cryptocurrency industry have voiced their disapproval of the case on the grounds that it might pave the way for the SEC to target stablecoins in future litigation. The comparisons of assets made by the SEC have even been described as "wild" by lawyers working in the business.
The beginning of this whole affair can be traced back to May 2022, when the stablecoin known as Terra USD (UST) was unpegged from the US dollar. The following demise of the Terra ecosystem was responsible for a huge implosion in the market for digital assets, which resulted in losses of approximately $40 billion.
Authorities in South Korea have also conducted an investigation into Terraform Laboratories, and a warrant has been issued for Kwon's arrest in that country. In an attempt to identify Kwon, South Korean law enforcement officers headed to Serbia. On February 15, South Korean prosecutors filed a warrant to arrest a local e-commerce executive who they accused of taking Terra (LUNA) in exchange for promoting Terra Labs. The executive was suspected of receiving the payment for marketing Terra Labs.
As at the time this article was written, Kwon has not made any comments. During the whole of the incident, the co-founder of Terraform Labs has been quite active on social media. On the other hand, it is the beginning of February and he has not tweeted since then.
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