Do Kwon Says He ‘Never’ Has Been in Touch With South Korea Authorities

Do Kwon, co-inventor of the failed Terra stablecoin system whose collapse wreaked havoc in the global cryptocurrency market, said authorities in South Korea haven’t filed charges against him or been in touch.

In a taped interview with crypto media startup Coinage, the co-founder of Terraform Labs was asked if he plans on returning to Korea from Singapore, where he has been staying.

“It’s kind of hard to make that decision, because we’ve never been in touch with the investigators. They’ve never charged us with anything.” Kwon said in the video interview, his first since Terra and its related token Luna crashed in May, causing some $40 billion in losses for investors around the world.

South Korean prosecutors last month raided the home of Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin as part of a probe into allegations of illegal activity behind Terra’s collapse. Authorities have also required that Kwon notify them when he returns to the country, and banned current and former employees of Terraform from leaving the country, but no arrests have been made.

Kwon said he plans to cooperate when the time comes. When the interview host floated the prospect of any jail time, Kwon said, “Life is long.”

South Korean prosecutors, asked about the Coinage interview, declined to disclose details about the investigation, saying in a text message that they’re doing their best and taking all necessary measures.

Terra’s collapse and the broader market sell-off led to the implosion of Three Arrows Capital, the once high-flying crypto hedge fund now under liquidation, with market contagion also affecting lenders and brokers such as Voyager Digital Ltd. and Celsius Network Ltd.