Do Kwon

Kwon was surrendered to the United States on 31 December 2024 and appeared in Manhattan in the federal case involving Terraform's schemes.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Kwon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud, and one count of wire fraud. He admitted the central manipulations and false statements involving Terraform.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused

A federal judge sentenced Kwon to fifteen years in prison for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities, commodities and wire fraud. He was also subject to forfeiture exceeding $19 million in proceeds from his schemes.

Legal status — source text

15-year sentence and over $19 million forfeiture

Attribution

Accused

After the collapse, Kwon continued promoting a public account that minimised or concealed certain earlier manipulations. The criminal case referred, in particular, to material presented as an independent audit to reinforce disputed claims about reserves and management of the ecosystem.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Directly implicated

Montenegrin courts successively examined US and South Korean extradition requests. After several decisions and remittals, the Justice Minister chose extradition to the United States in late December 2024.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Kwon promoted Terra as a decentralised, autonomous financial system based on a blockchain and products operating as advertised. US proceedings subsequently established that several central components had been secretly manipulated or did not function as represented.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Directly implicated

Kwon claimed that the Chai payment system settled transactions on the Terra blockchain. He subsequently admitted that ordinary payments went through traditional networks and that transactions were copied or simulated on the blockchain to create the appearance of genuine use.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Mirror was presented as a decentralised platform for creating and trading synthetic assets. Kwon admitted that Terraform secretly controlled significant aspects of the protocol and used automated mechanisms to influence activity or prices.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Directly implicated

Kwon promoted the Luna Foundation Guard as a separate organisation intended to protect the ecosystem's stability. He admitted retaining considerable control and treating its resources as closely connected to Terraform.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Directly implicated

Kwon admitted that tokens created at the ecosystem's launch had been used to finance internal operations, including activities designed to give the appearance of genuine use of Chai and other products.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Directly implicated

When UST lost its dollar peg in May 2021, Kwon secretly arranged large purchases by a high-frequency trading firm. He subsequently presented the restoration of the peg publicly as proof of the resilience of Terra's algorithm.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Kwon was arrested at Podgorica airport with an associate as they attempted to travel to Dubai using forged Costa Rican passports; other documents were seized.

Attribution

Directly implicated

A Montenegrin court sentenced Kwon to four months in prison for using the forged passport; the conviction became final after appeals.

Attribution

Accused