South Korean prosecutors are seeking to freeze 3,313 bitcoins at two cryptocurrency exchanges allegedly tied to luna founder Do Kwon. The coins were moved soon after a South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for the Terraform Labs co-founder. Luna Foundation Guard has denied transferring the coins.
Korean Authorities Ask Crypto Exchanges to Freeze Bitcoin
South Korean authorities have reportedly asked cryptocurrency exchanges Kucoin and Okx to freeze 3,313 bitcoins allegedly tied to Terraform Labs co-founder Kwon Do-hyung, also known as Do Kwon. The coins were transferred to the trading platforms soon after a warrant was issued for Kwon’s arrest in South Korea.
On Tuesday, an official at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office confirmed to Bloomberg that requests have been sent to the two cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze the 3,313 BTC.
The coins were transferred to the trading platforms from a wallet allegedly linked to Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) that was created on Sept. 15, according to crypto researcher Cryptoquant. The researcher told the publication:
Cryptoquant specified new bitcoin addresses owned by LFG based on transaction patterns, adjacent flows and material non-public information.
However, Luna Foundation Guard denied the allegation Tuesday evening. The group tweeted its treasury’s bitcoin address, adding: “LFG hasn’t created any new wallets or moved BTC or other tokens held by LFG since May 2022.”
Do Kwon Says: ‘I’m Making Zero Effort to Hide’
The luna founder’s whereabouts are currently unknown. He was believed to be in Singapore but the Singapore police force said earlier this month that he is currently not in the city-state. Kwon has maintained that he is not “on the run,” tweeting Monday:
I’m making zero effort to hide. I go on walks and malls.
A South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for Kwon on Sept. 14. He is accused of fraud after the collapse of the cryptocurrency luna (now called luna classic (LUNC)) and stablecoin terrausd (UST). In addition, the country’s ministry of foreign affairs is reportedly planning to revoke his passport.
Moreover, Interpol has issued a Red Notice for the Terraform Labs co-founder. “A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action,” Interpol’s website details, adding that “Red Notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence.”
Do you think Do Kwon transferred 3,313 bitcoins after his arrest warrant was issued? And, do you think Korean authorities should be able to freeze crypto at exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below.