Do Kwon, the South Korean founder of cryptocurrency Terra, who is facing an arrest warrant, denied on Sunday that he was on the run after Singapore police claimed he was not in the city-state. On Sunday morning, he said on Twitter: “I am +not on the run+ or something similar” but did not reveal his whereabouts.
Do Kwon, co-founder of TerraUSD, lost $40 billion to investors and more than $500 billion in the cryptocurrency market this year following the crash of his stablecoin. That collapse led a South Korean court to issue an arrest warrant for him on Wednesday.
“For any agency that has shown an interest in communicating, we are fully cooperating and have nothing to hide,” he tweeted. “We are in the process of defending ourselves in multiple jurisdictions (…) and we look forward to bringing the truth to light in the coming months.”
Many believed until the release of the Singapore police statement that the 31-year-old suspect was in the city-state where he gave his first media interview in August since the cryptocurrency operator went bankrupt. in May and in which he admitted his wrongs. On Saturday, Singapore Police (SPF) said via email in response to an AFP query that “Do Kwon is not currently in Singapore.” “The SPF will assist the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) within the framework of our national legislation and our international obligations,” the brief statement said without further details. Singaporean newspaper Straits Times reported that Do Kwon’s work permit in Singapore was set to expire on December 7. According to this media, he had apparently applied for the renewal of this permit, but the procedure would have been made impossible due to the cancellation of his passport by Seoul.
In April 2022, the value of Terra had reached its highest level. According to CoinMarketCap, it was then the fourth largest stablecoin and the tenth leading cryptocurrency by market value. But in May, Terra lost more than half its value in 24 hours, sending a wave of panic through an already feverish crypto-asset market. Very quickly, the stablecoin and its sister token Luna fell to zero, leading to losses of more than $500 billion in the market and hitting all the savings of many small investors in the process.
South Korean authorities have since opened several criminal investigations into the case.
Do Kwon, the South Korean founder of cryptocurrency Terra, who is facing an arrest warrant, denied on Sunday that he was on the run after Singapore police claimed he was not in the city-state. On Sunday morning, he said on Twitter: “I am +not on the run+ or something similar” but did not reveal his whereabouts.Do Kwon,…