Report: Terraform Labs Co-Founder Indicted on Fraud Charges in South Korea

Recent local reports have brought to light that Shin Hyun-seong, also known as Daniel Shin, co-founder of Terraform Labs, has been indicted by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of fraud. Along with nine others, Shin is suspected of deceiving investors and accumulating around 460 billion won ($350M) before the Terra project ultimately failed.

KBS World, a regional South Korean publication, has revealed that ten individuals, including Daniel Shin, have been indicted in South Korea. Although they have not been detained, the suspects have been charged with financial law violations, embezzlement, and fraud. The South Korean authorities suspect that this group of individuals raised 460 billion won ($350M) through unlawful means linked to the Terra blockchain project.

According to the KBS report, Shin was responsible for supervising terrausd (UST) (now known as USTC) payments for four years, starting from July 2018. Prosecutors have reason to believe that false advertising was utilized during this period. Seven of the ten suspects who were indicted worked for Terraform Labs, while one was Shin’s financial broker. Although the prosecution is aiming to seize 246.8 billion won ($184.7M), the process has been far from smooth.

In a recent ruling, the court in Seoul stated that the original Terra asset, now referred to as LUNC, is not a security. As a result, the Seoul prosecutors’ office had difficulty confiscating Daniel Shin’s cryptocurrency assets due to this provision. After eleven months of investigations, the Seoul prosecutors’ office is now bringing the accused to trial. Notably, the indictment report does not mention co-founder Kwon Do-hyeong, commonly known as Do Kwon.

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