Singapore Police Have Begun Probing Crypto Fugitive Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs

Suvashree Ghosh and Joanna Ossinger, Bloomberg News

Do Kwon , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore police said they have begun a probe linked to Terraform Labs Pte, the company co-founded by crypto fugitive Do Kwon.

In an emailed statement on Monday, the force said “investigations have commenced in relation to Terraform Labs” and added the inquiries are “ongoing.” It also said Kwon isn’t currently in the city state.

Terraform Labs didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

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

The 31-year-old developed the TerraUSD stablecoin, which was meant to have a constant $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.

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 hasn’t tweeted since Feb. 1.