Do Kwon, the creator of Terra was expected to appear before the court earlier this month, according to a statement from the South Korean prosecutors, who also threatened to revoke his passport if he did not do so. October 19 has been set as the deadline for the same.
Do Kwon is still wanted and is currently on Red Notice. When the Terra ecosystem collapsed in May 2022, costing $60 billion, South Korean authorities began seeking Do Kwon to investigate his role in the fiasco.
As a result of the Terra ecosystem’s demise, there were several defaults and bankruptcies in the crypto space in the months that followed. Do Kwon promised he would help the police and prosecutors with their investigation, but he has ignored repeated calls to appear.
Kwon To Be Deported?
It is impossible to continue defying authorities in this manner, and the South Korean prosecutors have decided to revoke his passport after October 19 if he still does not show up. He might live illegally and face deportation if his passport is invalidated.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office and the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they had already asked Do Kwon to return his passport last week, on October 5, but received no reply from him. According to Article 13 of the Passport Act, the passport’s validity expires if it isn’t returned within 14 days following the announcement. Kwon will consequently be subject to deportation after October 19 as an unauthorized resident in the area.
Kwon Refuses To Budge, Dismisses Allegations
Meanwhile, Do Kwon has repeatedly refuted the accusations made against him. In his most recent tweet, he claimed that governments are using crypto as a weapon against their own citizens.
Prosecutors have just seized Terraforms Lab’s Bitcoin and transferred it to the OKEx and KuCoin cryptocurrency exchanges. Do Kwon, however, insists that the funds in question are not his.
Beyond Do Kwon, the South Korean prosecutors’ probe has been expanded. They were searching for five additional individuals and associates who lived near Kwon.
Most recently, the chief of Terraform Labs, Yoo Mo, also had to be detained for more investigation. However, the court denied the request, noting that it was “difficult to show that an arrest was necessary or plausible.”
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