The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has issued an international arrest warrant, also called a red notice, for Terraform Labs founder Kwon Do-Hyung, more commonly known as Do Kwon.
Interpol has requested law enforcement agencies worldwide to search and arrest Do Kwon.
“Prosecutors in Seoul said Monday in a text message the international police organization has issued a Red Notice for Do Kwon.”
Do Kwon, a South Korean national, is accused of the collapse of two cryptos on the Terra ecosystem, Terra cryptocurrency (Luna) and stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), which resulted in losses of $40 billion for investors, and an investigation was launched.
For your information, Terraform Labs’ cryptocurrency LUNA and UST imploded unexpectedly in May 2022 because investors lost faith in their effectiveness. Do Kwon revived the crypto project and avoided the algorithmic stablecoin component for now. UST’s de-pegging prompted the crashing of the LUNA token because both were intertwined.
Luna token’s crashing caused the wipeout of a previously high-profile crypto hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital. These collapses impacted a large number of crypto lenders, including BlockFi.
According to Bloomberg, Reportedly, several cases have been registered against Do Kwon.
However, crypto industry experts have voiced concerns over issuing a red notice because it will set a wrong precedent. Experts claim that the notice is uncalled for since Do Kwon didn’t defraud his customers and investors knowingly. Red notices are issued for most wanted fugitives for prosecution or serving a sentence.
As per Interpol’s website, the notice will serve as a request to international law enforcement authorities to provisionally arrest the person who is to be deported or facing legal action. However, at the time of writing, no arrest warrant or red notice was displayed on Interpol’s site. You can search for a red warrant on this link.
Crypto investment fund Dragonfly’s managing partner Haseeb Qureshi stated that Terra’s criminalization is a dangerous precedent.
“Having met Do Kwon … leaving how he is a person aside … I think the criminalization of Terra is a dangerous precedent,” but he also added that he didn’t know many details.
According to the prosecutors, the accused will face charges in South Korea. South Korean prosecutors intensified their investigation against Do Kwon and accused him of non-cooperative behavior this month. They also alleged that the entrepreneur was on the run as they had ‘circumstantial evidence of escape.’
Around fifteen days back, the prosecutors confirmed that Do Kwon had fled Singapore, and that’s why an arrest warrant was issued. However, Do Kwon posted on social media that he wasn’t on the run and was interested in communicating with government agencies. He also proclaimed that his team was fully cooperating and had nothing to hide.
Korean officials have accused Do Kwon and five other individuals of allegedly violating capital-market laws.
Korean prosecutors are currently trying to locate Do Kwon’s whereabouts and arrest him as soon as possible. Interpol’s arrest warrant will help them seek information from international agencies in this regard.
