Report: South Korean Prosecutors Accuse Do Kwon of Manipulating LUNA’s Market Price

On Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, local reports from South Korea disclosed that Korean prosecutors have allegedly discovered evidence that shows Do Kwon and an associate manipulated the price of LUNA, Terra’s native crypto token. The report further says South Korean prosecutors believe Kwon is hiding out in Europe.

A report published by the local KBS News claims the co-creator of the Terra blockchain project, Do Kwon, is currently located in Europe. The news was discovered by the Terra whistleblower known as Fatman, an individual that has been publishing damning allegations against Kwon and Terraform Labs’ associates during the last few months.

“Korean prosecutors have obtained a private conversation between Do Kwon and an employee where he gives orders to manipulate LUNA’s market price,” Fatman wrote on Twitter on Nov. 3, 2022. “They have also confirmed that he is currently residing in Europe as an illegal immigrant.”

Fatman further shared the KBS News article, which summarized the same news the whistleblower described in the tweet. Speaking with the KBS News reporter, Lee Do-Yoon, the South Korean Prosecutor’s Office official said:

I can’t reveal the details, but it was a conversation history where CEO Kwon specifically ordered price manipulation.

The news follows the reported $40 million in crypto assets allegedly frozen by South Korean authorities. The assets reportedly derived from the crypto exchanges Kucoin and Okex. Kwon, however, denied the seizure was his funds and he said that he didn’t use those trading platforms. Kwon has repeatedly told the public he is “making zero effort to hide.”

Kwon also tweeted on Nov. 3, 2022, when he said “Strangely, these last few weeks have been one of the most creative periods of my life.” The KBS News article written by Lee Do-Yoon says that Kwon may have been hiding out in Dubai, but the reporter also added that he is residing in the region illegally.

“Do Kwon is now an illegal immigrant, wherever he is, in any country, and he cannot travel legally between countries,” a translation of Lee Do-Yoon’s KBS News editorial explains.

In addition to the report from KBS News, that claims South Korean prosecutors have evidence against Kwon, the Terra co-founder and associates such as members of the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) and Nikolaos Alexandros Platias have been named in a class-action lawsuit.

The lawsuit derives from Singapore and plaintiffs are attempting to sue for $57 million in damages. The court case stems from 359 multinational investors that claim they suffered financial hardships from Terra’s crypto ecosystem collapse.

The class action against Kwon and his associates is led by Australia-based Julian Moreno Beltran and Singapore resident Douglas Gan. Moreover, the crypto project Capapult Finance recently revealed the idea to create a “soft-pegged stablecoin” built on the Terra blockchain.

What do you think about the report that claims Terra co-founder Do Kwon manipulated LUNA’s market price? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.