Key takeaways
- In support of Do Kwon’s attorneys, the US SEC agreed to move the trial forward following the co-founder of Terraform Labs’ extradition.
- According to the document, the SEC supports Kwon’s request for a brief postponement so he can take part in the trial.
In support of Do Kwon’s attorneys, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agreed to move the trial forward following the co-founder of Terraform Labs’ extradition.
The SEC stated in a filing dated January 15 that it was “fully prepared, willing, and able to proceed” with the trial against Kwon, which was set to commence on January 29. However, it also included a request to move the start date to no earlier than March 18.
While the co-founder of Terraform Labs is in Montenegro, where he was detained in March 2023, Kwon’s legal team is addressing the legal obstacles to his extradition to the United States.
According to the document, the SEC supports Kwon’s request for a brief postponement so he can take part in the trial. The SEC also stated:
“If the trial date is adjourned, the SEC respectfully requests that the trial commence on April 15, 2024.”
In a letter dated January 11, Kwon’s attorneys asked Judge Jed Rakoff to postpone the January trial until the Terraform co-founder could appear in person for his defense. The extradition process, which started when Kwon was imprisoned in Montenegro, appeared to be proceeding more slowly than the legal team had anticipated.
Although the SEC approved of the motion to perhaps reschedule the trial, it disagreed with splitting Terraform’s case from Kwon’s argument before the commission. When the SEC filed charges in February 2023, naming both as defendants, the allegation was that they planned a “multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud” pertaining to tokens that were previously known as TerraUSD (UST) and LUNA. The SEC declared:
“Holding two trials would unnecessarily require witnesses, including SEC whistleblowers and retail investors with limited financial means, to testify twice about identical facts in different trials,”
Many people see the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022 as a pivotal moment in the decline of the cryptocurrency industry that year. Following TerraUSD’s depreciation from the US dollar, other cryptocurrency companies, including as Voyager Digital, BlockFi, Celsius Network, and FTX, declared bankruptcy.
The SEC lawsuit has been proceeding with pretrial motions even without Kwon being accessible for in-person participation. Judge Rakoff awarded summary judgment in December in favor of Kwon and Terraform regarding the offer and sale of security-based swaps and in favor of the SEC regarding Terraform’s dealings with unregistered securities.
