Do Kwon seeks SEC charges dismissal as S.Korea rules LUNA as non-security

Court documents were filed indicating that Do Kwon, co-founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, has asked for the dismissal of charges leveled against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

In the motion filed on Friday, April 21 to have the SEC charges dismissed, Kwon argued the SEC’s claims are invalid, pushing back against the agency’s position that tokens including MIR, LUNA (LUNA) and UST are securities.

Additionally, Kwon’s counsel said the agency lacked the proper jurisdiction to bring charges against Kwon and Terraform Labs because Terra’s tokens and projects were “aimed at the world” and did not specifically target U.S. investors.

 The South Korean district court recently dismissed security violation charges against the co-founder of Terraform Labs, Hyun-seong Shin, deeming LUNA as non-security under Korea’s Capital Markets Act. This ruling makes Kwon’s motion right only in connection to LUNA.

However, in a press conference after the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s office indicted 10 people involved in the collapse of the Terra stablecoin ecosystem, the prosecutor reportedly identified Signum as the Swiss bank account where Kwon transferred more than 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) from the Terra platform and the Luna Foundation Guard to a cold wallet, then converted to fiat.

The Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Unit of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s office, headed by Dan Seong-han, stated that they are monitoring Bitcoin owned by Luna Foundation Guard and that the transferred amount, which aligns with the SEC complaint, is approximately $100 million (equivalent to 130 billion won).

The prosecutors clarified that the $100 million was not kept solely in the Signum account and was dispersed in various locations. It was verified that a portion of the funds was transferred to the Kim & Chang law firm account to cover legal fees, while the rest amounted to billions of won.

Related: Terraform Labs co-founder and nine others indicted in South Korea

The SEC’s actions against Kwon and the company he co-founded preempted his arrest in Montenegro, where he currently faces extradition. South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for Kwon in September and U.S. federal prosecutors unveiled criminal charges against him shortly after he was arrested a month ago.

Magazine: Chinese billionaire’s $1B fraud charges, Kwon’s $11M bet, Zhu Su and Islam: Asia Express