Do Kwon pleads not guilty to US fraud charges in US$40 billion crypto collapse
Fallen cryptocurrency mogul makes his first US court appearance after being extradited from Montenegro
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Thursday unsealed a nine-count indictment charging Kwon, who co-founded Singapore-based Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, with securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
Kwon, 33, wore an olive green long-sleeved shirt and black sweatpants as his lawyer Andrew Chesley entered the plea at a hearing before US Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court.
The judge ordered Kwon detained after Chesley said he would not seek bail at this time. Kwon took a copy of the 79-page indictment with him as US marshals led him out of the courtroom. He is expected back in court on January 8.
Kwon had agreed last June to pay an US$80 million civil fine and be banned from cryptocurrency transactions as part of a US$4.55 billion settlement that he and Terraform reached with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
In Thursday’s indictment, the Manhattan US Attorney’s office alleged Kwon misled investors in 2021 about TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin designed to maintain a value of US$1.
