Key takeaways:
- Swiss authorities seized $26 million in crypto connected to Terraform Labs and Do Kwon.
- The Swiss government is collaborating with the US SEC, which has brought charges against Do Kwon.
According to the Digital Asset report, Swiss authorities seized millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency connected to Terraform Labs and Do Kwon.
Authorities froze $26 million worth of Bitcoin and other digital assets held by the Zurich-based Sygnum Bank, according to a June 24 report by The Digital Asset. These resources belonged to Do Kwon and Han Chang-Joon, who were formerly Terraform Labs’ CEO and CFO, respectively.
In response to a request from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the New York Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Swiss authorities froze the aforementioned assets, according to Digital Asset.
It further mentioned that according to earlier Bloomberg reporting, Kwon owned $13 million in Sygnum Bank, which is only half of the total amount currently seized. Kwon reportedly moved $29 million in bitcoin separately from the money held in the Swiss account, according to a June 8 story from Bloomberg.
The Terra blockchain had a significant crash in May 2022 that destroyed billions of dollars worth of wealth. A quick sell-off of TerraUSD (UST), the stablecoin for Terra, was what started the meltdown. Following the crash, security agencies from all over the world, including South Korea, the US, and Montenegro, have placed the co-founder, Kwon, on high notice.
He was detained in Montenegro in March 2023 after the SEC accused the corporation of fraud in February 2023. He was proclaimed to be wanted by the US and South Korea in April due to missing assets worth millions of dollars that were in his care. In the same month, Serbian Police also raided his Belgrade home.
The co-founder, who was taken before a Montenegro court in May, was given a release on a €400,000 ($436,000) bond pending his trial. On June 19, Kwon was given a four-month prison sentence in Montenegro after being found guilty of using fake travel documents. In 2022, Kwon and other Terra associates left several nations as a result of the failure of their project. In the meantime, he is still being sued by the US and South Korea. His extradition to the US was prevented by the legal procedures in Montenegro.
