Do Kwon, creator of two cryptocurrencies whose collapse created a crash in the sector, is now actively sought by the South Korean authorities.
Although he defends himself from any malice, and claims not to be on the run, no one knows where he is and he does not intend to surrender to the authorities for the moment. The latter asked Interpol to take up the case.
Who is Do Kwon?
Do Kwon, before being on the run and wanted by the authorities of his country, was a South Korean entrepreneur who created, in 2018, two cryptocurrencies: Terra and Luna. Two rapid successes, which quickly earned him a reputation as a visionary, and a real fan base, the Lunatics. His reputation was not only centered on private investors, since real institutional financiers from Silicon Valley also worked with Luna, his company.
However, last May, his decision to quickly sell off a large amount of his own currency led to a rapid and dramatic drop in value. The value of Terra was thus divided by 10. And this crash did not happen alone, since it triggered a crisis of confidence in cryptos, and even the most famous and reputable coins saw their value plunge. From almost 40,000 dollars at that time, the value of bitcoin, for example, fell back below the 20,000 dollar mark and still remains below today.
So it’s no exaggeration to say that he literally lost hundreds of billions of dollars, both to individuals and to large investment groups. Whether it was illegal remains to be seen.
Accused of fraud and insider trading
If fleeing does not mean guilt, it nevertheless raises questions. Moreover, the businessman denies being on the run, even if no one knows where he is and he refuses to surrender when summoned by the authorities of his country, who have issued an arrest warrant for his against. But for what reason? Because it is sadly not the first entrepreneur who has lost considerable sums of money that did not belong to him.
For Do Kwon, the challenge now is to convince that what he was proposing was a risky bet, but potentially extremely profitable. For their part, the South Korean inspectors accuse him, along with five other people, of having deliberately promoted this currency knowing perfectly well its real value, and above all, its fragility. And the fact that the fugitive shut down his offices in South Korea a week before the crash clearly doesn’t work in his favor.
But if no one has seen Do Kwon since then, this one is not discreet. Especially on Twitter, where he constantly pleads his cause and explains that he is not on the run. Confident, he had even tried to relaunch his business a few weeks after the crash, but had backed down in the face of the discontent of investors.
Sources: washington post, Numerama
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