The Chase Begins
Once upon a time, in the magical land of South Korea, the authorities were on a wild goose chase. They’d issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Kwon last September, convinced that his crypto company, Terraform Labs, had been a naughty rule-breaker in the capital market.
The South Korean officials, like modern-day Sherlock Holmes, believed their prime suspect was hiding in Serbia. So off they went to Belgrade, hoping to strike a deal, since there wasn’t an extradition treaty between the two nations.
The Big Reveal
Mr. Kwon, meanwhile, insisted he wasn’t playing a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek, but kept his location as secret as a hidden treasure.
Finally, Montenegro’s interior minister, Filip Adzic, spilled the beans on Twitter, announcing that “one of the world’s most wanted fugitives” had been caught red-handed at Podgorica’s airport. Apparently, Mr. Kwon was trying to keep his identity as mysterious as a masked ball, using a fake name and documents.
South Korea’s police had a fingerprint showdown, and lo and behold, the Montenegro suspect was indeed Mr. Kwon. But wait, there’s more! US prosecutors have also charged our protagonist with fraud.
A Laundry List of Charges
Mr. Kwon faces a veritable smorgasbord of charges, including securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy. A lawyer for Mr. Kwon was as elusive as the Cheshire Cat when asked for comments.
Now, Montenegro doesn’t have extradition treaties with the US or South Korea, so the plot thickens.
Kwon Crypto-Crash Party
In February, US financial regulators accused Mr. Kwon and Singapore-based Terraform Labs of not playing fair with the public about their crypto asset securities, especially Luna and TerraUSD. The duo allegedly made grandiose claims about the tokens’ values, only for the tokens and Luna cryptocurrency to nosedive like a lead balloon last May.
This cryptocrash party sent Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether spiraling down too, and the term “cryptocrash” became the talk of the town.
The Creator’s Lament
Mr. Kwon, a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein, lamented the chaos his creation had unleashed, saying, “I am heartbroken about the pain my invention has brought on all of you.” According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, TerraUSD and Luna investors worldwide lost a jaw-dropping $42 billion.
And so, the tale of Mr. Kwon and his crypto misadventures continues…
