South Korean authorities indicate that Terra founder Do Kwon has moved to Serbia, but may now be in a neighboring country.
Kwon possibly in Serbia
The Balkan country of Serbia has emerged as a possible location where Do Kwon, CEO of Terraform Labs, currently resides. Do Kwon is wanted by the South Korean authorities. He is accused of violating the country’s capital markets law.
South Korean prosecutors say Kwon moved to Serbia via Dubai last month.
The South Korean Ministry of Justice is asking for help from the Serbian government, according to a report. It is possible that Kwon has already moved to a neighboring country, as there are no official entry or exit details due to the invalidation of the 31-year-old entrepreneur’s passport.
South Korea and Serbia do not have an extradition treaty. However, in the past, the two countries have both agreed to requests under the European Convention on Extradition.
The collapse of Terra
The Terra ecosystem, which included the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD UST and the Luna token, collapsed in May this year. Wiping out more than $40 billion in investor assets in a matter of weeks.
Terra’s collapse was accompanied by a massive sell-off. This caused the prices of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies to drop. The crash is also partly responsible for the bankruptcies of cryptocurrency lenders Celsius and Voyager, as well as hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.
The crash also led to increased scrutiny of crypto investments and stablecoins by regulators around the world.
Arrest warrant for Kwon
South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for Kwon on September 14. Interpol redlisted Kwon later that month.
With this, Interpol is urging law enforcement around the world to locate and detain Kwon pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.
The following month, South Korean prosecutors said Kwon had traveled to an unknown country via Dubai after leaving Singapore, where Terraform Labs’ headquarters was located.
Kwon has previously denied that he was in hiding. However, his whereabouts remain unknown.
I’m not ‘on the run’ or anything like that. We are working with any government agency that has expressed an interest in communicating. We have nothing to hide.
— Do Kwon
In addition, Kwon has denied any allegation regarding the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.