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Terra Co-Founder Do Kwon Still Says He's Not on the Run
The South Korean developer also continued to dismiss claims that $67 million was frozen on crypto exchanges OKX and KuCoin.
Updated May 9, 2023, 3:59 a.m. Published Oct 18, 2022, 1:57 p.m.
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Do Kwon, the controversial co-founder of Terraform Labs, the firm behind the Terra blockchain network, has denied claims that he is on the run from law enforcement, despite Interpol issuing a "red notice" for his arrest last month.
In an interview with Laura Shin on the "Unchained" podcast, Kwon explained that he moved to Singapore from South Korea before the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, which saw $60 billion in value evaporate in May.
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"There's no reason why any government official would believe we fled to Singapore," Kwon said.
Kwon, who was also behind failed stablecoin project Basis Cash in 2020, also dismissed claims that any of his funds have been frozen.
"To say that the funds are frozen, I have not used KuCoin or OKX, as far as I can remember. I don't have any funds there. If they froze $67 million I would definitely have noticed," he reiterated. KuCoin and OKX are crypto exchanges.
"There has been allegations that we moved LFG [Luna Foundation Guard] funds into a Gemini custody wallet and that it's sitting there. All we did – to confirm a trade with market maker – is transfer it to an address on the market maker's instruction," he continued.
The collapse of the Terra ecosystem led to widespread financial and emotional damage across the crypto industry, with some investors reportedly losing their life savings. A man in Taiwan reportedly committed suicide after losing $2 million.
"Yes, I am sorry," Kwon responded after being pressed for an apology by Shin. "It could seem that the way we are responding to allegations and news reports that we are being defensive. That is not the case.
"Statements about the stability of UST led traders to gain confidence in a system that ultimately failed. I do apologize and own up to the responsibility of that," he concluded, referring to the terraUSD stablecoin that his company developed.
Read more: Do Kwon Denies Report That South Korean Prosecutors Froze $39.6M of His Crypto
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