Official court verdicts and announcements from the U.S. District Court

Do Kwon Pleads Not Guilty in US Court After Extradition Over $40 Billion TerraUSD and Luna Collapse

Jan 2, 2025, 06:08 PM

Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs and the mastermind behind the TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies, has been extradited from Montenegro to the United States to face criminal fraud charges. The extradition was approved by Montenegro's justice minister and occurred on December 31, 2024. Kwon appeared in a federal courtroom in Manhattan on January 2, 2025, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. The charges against Kwon include two counts each of securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy, as well as an additional count of money laundering conspiracy. The collapse of TerraUSD and Luna in May 2022 resulted in over $40 billion in investor losses. Prior to this, Kwon had agreed to pay an $80 million civil fine and be part of a $4.55 billion settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Kwon's case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge John P. Cronan, with an initial conference scheduled for January 8, 2025.