A South Korean man accused of being answerable for a cryptocurrency disaster which price traders $40bn (£31.8bn) has lastly been extradited to the US.
Do Kwon was the boss of Terraform, which operated two cryptocurrencies – TerraUSD and Luna – each of which collapsed in 2022, sparking a wider sell-off within the crypto market.
The US says he was answerable for the cash’ failure, accusing him of “orchestrating a multi-billion greenback crypto asset securities fraud”.
Kwon fled South Korea after a warrant for his arrest was issued, ultimately ending up in Montenegro the place he has now been extradited from, following a prolonged authorized battle.
He was beforehand discovered responsible of forging paperwork by a Montenegro courtroom, having been arrested as he was trying to board a aircraft to Dubai in March 2023.
It had been unclear whether or not he would face prison proceedings within the US, nevertheless, as Montenegro doesn’t have extradition treaties with the US or South Korea, which has additionally been looking for his extradition.
Kwon lastly being despatched to the US brings to an finish authorized proceedings that lasted greater than 18 months.
The Montenegrin Ministry of Justice authorised the extradition earlier in December.
It claimed that Do Kwon had additionally agreed to it.
Kwon’s agency Terraform Labs turned extensively identified in 2021, when its cash Luna and TerraUSD exploded in recognition.
Followers of Luna became known as “Lunatics”, with Kwon known as their “king”.
However, regardless of an enormous sum of money being poured into the cash, on 9 Might 2022 Terraform Labs collapsed catastrophically, dropping greater than 99% of its worth in 48 hours.
Traders scrambled to take their cash out of different cryptocurrencies, fearing {that a} comparable factor may occur to them, which resulted in values falling considerably throughout the entire sector.
It is estimated the so-called “cryptocrash” resulted in losses of $400bn (£318 bn).
Bitcoin was among the many property affected, nevertheless it has considerably grown in worth since then and briefly stood at more than $100,000 per coin in December.
Terraform Labs in the end filed for chapter within the US in January 2024.
