Do Kwon, the South Korean founding father of the failed cryptocurrency Terra wished by police, has denied he was on the run after Singapore investigators mentioned he was not within the city-state as had been believed.
Kwon’s whereabouts have been thrown into query after an announcement from Singapore police late on Saturday, and his tweets didn’t reveal the place he was.
The collapse of Terraform Labs earlier this yr wiped out about $40bn of investors’ money. Kwon has been accused of fraud by 5 traders based mostly in South Korea; he’s being investigated by a monetary crimes unit and in the US by the Securities and Change Fee.
A South Korean courtroom on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for Kwon.
Early Sunday he mentioned on Twitter: “I’m ‘not on the run’ or something related”, however didn’t reveal the place he was.
“For any company that has proven curiosity to speak, we’re in full cooperation and we don’t have something to cover,” he added.
“We’re within the strategy of defending ourselves in a number of jurisdictions… and sit up for clarifying the reality over the subsequent few months.”
The 31-year-old was earlier believed to be in Singapore, the place final month he gave his first media interview since the crypto operator folded in May.
Late on Saturday, the Singapore police power mentioned in an electronic mail response that “Do Kwon is at the moment not in Singapore”.
“SPF will help the Korean Nationwide Police Company (KNPA) throughout the ambit of our home laws and worldwide obligations,” mentioned the temporary assertion, which gave no additional particulars.
Singapore’s Straits Instances newspaper has reported that Kwon’s work allow within the city-state was on account of expire on 7 December, however his utility for a renewal could possibly be in danger now.
South Korean prosecutors have additionally issued arrest warrants for 5 different folks – who weren’t named – linked to stablecoin TerraUSD and its sister token Luna.
Kwon’s Terra/Luna system disintegrated in Could, with the worth of each tokens plummeting to close zero, and the fallout hitting the broader crypto market. Its collapse sparked greater than $500 bn in losses.
Stablecoins are designed to have a comparatively secure worth and are often pegged to a real-world commodity or forex.
TerraUSD, nevertheless, was algorithmic, utilizing code to keep up its worth at round one US greenback.
Many traders misplaced their life financial savings when Luna and Terra entered a loss of life spiral, and South Korean authorities have opened a number of prison probes into the crash.