Singapore Police open probe into crypto fugitive Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs

SINGAPORE police said they have begun a probe linked to Terraform Labs, the company co-founded by crypto fugitive Do Kwon.

In an e-mailed statement on Monday (Mar 6), the force said: “investigations have commenced in relation to Terraform Labs”, and added that the inquiries are “ongoing”. It also said Kwon is not currently in the city state.

Terraform Labs did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) last month accused Kwon and Terraform Labs of fraud. He also faces charges in his native South Korea over the US$60 billion wipe out of digital assets that he created. 

The 31-year-old developed the TerraUSD stablecoin, which was meant to have a constant US$1 value via a mix of algorithms and trader incentives involving a sister token, Luna. The edifice blew up in May 2022, exacerbating a crypto-market rout and contributing to the downfall of a range of digital-asset outfits.

Kwon’s whereabouts became unclear after South Korea issued a warrant for his arrest and he exited Singapore, where Terraform Labs had a base. South Korea has said Kwon, who has previously denied wrongdoing, is the subject of an Interpol red notice.

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The US SEC in its lawsuit also said that Kwon and Terraform Labs transferred over 10,000 Bitcoin out of their doomed project and turned some of the tokens into cash via a Swiss bank.

Kwon used to be active on Twitter – at one point last year, he poked fun at the saga surrounding him, trolling “the cops” and posting a picture of a gun with the words “pew pew”. He has not posted a tweet since Feb 1. BLOOMBERG