In the last few months, Terraforms Labs (TFL) and co-founder Do Kwon have increasingly moved Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets worth millions, in a move that has seen analysts question if he is looking to raise funds for lawyers.
According to on-chain data verified by a South Korean news outlet, last month, Kwon’s associates commenced selling BTC connected to Luna Foundation Guard after moving 5,292 BTC to another wallet last month.
The Purported Bitcoin Transfers
Despite being imprisoned in Montenegro, Do Kwon remains active in the crypto space. Besides transferring 239 BTC out of 5,292 BTC connected to the Luna Foundation Guard, either Do Kwon or his affiliates have also conducted other transfers.
These transfers became more frequent following Do Kwon’s arrest in Montenegro in May this year. Terraform Labs also moved 1.8 million Convex Finance (CVX) tokens valued at about $8.7 million. Data also discloses that the wallet address “bc1qs6” now holds 5,053.26 BTC valued at $146 million following a transfer to “bc1q42.”
Additionally, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that after the Terra-LUNA crisis, the embattled Do Kwon and Terraform Labs secretly moved 10,000 BTC to a cold wallet. As such, Do Kwon continues to move BTC from the cold wallet to crypto bank Sygnum and has cashed out millions of dollars to date.
BTC price falls below $29,000 once again | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com
Transfers Amidst Raging Court Battle
The ongoing transfers come amidst the raging court battle between the SEC v. Terraform Labs Pte Ltd. Recently, lawyers for Do Kwon and Terraforms Labs filed a motion to dismiss the US SEC lawsuit on the ground that it lacks jurisdiction.
They referenced Judge Torres’s decision in the case of the SEC v. Ripple Labs. However, the motion was dismissed by Judge Rakoff, who also rejected Judge Torres’s groundbreaking ruling as having any precedent in the lawsuit.
Do Kwon was earlier sentenced to four months in prison by a court in Montenegro for using a forged passport. However, it is unclear what the next steps will be for Do Kwon will be once released from Montenegrian jail. He reportedly could face multiple jail terms in different countries.
The US and South Korea are seeking to extradite him over fraud charges that relate to his contribution to Terraform Labs’ collapse. Although, the extradition process might not be so straightforward as neither the US nor South Korea has extradition treaties with Montenegro.
South Korea seems to be the likely destination for Do Kwon upon release from prison as the Montenegro high court is reportedly seeking to extradite Do Kwon back to his home country. If convicted in South Korea, the Terra founder faces up to 40 years in prison.
Featured image from CoinDesk, chart from Tradingview.com
