South Korean prosecutors seek Interpol red notice, is LUNA on risk

Less than a week after South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for the founder of TerraForm Labs, the company behind TerraUSD, the prosecutor’s office is now seeking an Interpol red notice against Do Kwon.

The red notice will prompt all 195 member nations to locate and arrest Kwon, who has been labeled a fugitive by authorities.

Response to tweets over the weekend

The latest development in the Terra saga comes two days after the 31-year-old at the helm of Terraform took to Twitter on Saturday (18 September) to respond to the allegations made against him. 

“I am not on the run or anything similar,” Kwon told his followers. He further added,

“We are in the process of defending ourselves in multiple jurisdictions – we have held ourselves to an extremely high bar of integrity, and look forward to clarifying the truth over the next few months.” 

Citing concerns for his privacy, Kwon refused to advertise his location but added that he was cooperating with government agencies.

Prosecutors told local media that Do Kwon was “obviously on the run.” The prosecutor’s office also revealed that Kwon made it known through his lawyers that he had no intention of appearing for questioning or cooperating with the investigation.

Prosecutors in the case have labeled Kwon a fugitive and claimed that he fled his home country in April, just weeks before his firm imploded.

Kwon was last seen in Singapore, where he founded Terraform in 2018. Singapore local police issued a statement on 17 September informing that he was no longer in the country. Kwon’s relatives as well as key Terraform executives were reported to have flown to Singapore in May.

Actions taken by authorities

On 15 September, Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to revoke the passports of Do Kwon and four of his associates. 

Earlier in June,  South Korean prosecutors had banned Terra employees from leaving the country in order to make sure that concerned individuals don’t flee from the investigation. Do Kwon was reportedly in Singapore at the time.

In July, South Korean authorities executed a search and seizure on 15 firms, including seven crypto exchanges believed to be connected to the collapse of Terra reportedly gaining access to data related to USTC and LUNC transactions.

Terra Classic [LUNC] has plummeted more than 13% since the arrest warrant against Do Kwon was issued last week. Sister token Terra [LUNA] saw a worse decline in its price, precisely 36.17%.