Kwon Do-hyung, a key figure in the cryptocurrency 'Terra·Luna' crash incident, appeared in a New York federal court on the 2nd (local time) and pleaded not guilty. Kwon faces nine charges, including securities and commodities fraud.
According to Bloomberg News and others, Kwon made his not guilty plea through his attorney Andrew Chesley before Magistrate Judge Robert Leavitt at the Southern District of New York federal court in Manhattan. Kwon also agreed through his lawyer to remain detained without bail.
Bloomberg noted that Kwon's appearance in the New York federal court marked the end of a nearly two-year drama surrounding his custody. In the U.S., criminal trials require the defendant's personal appearance, so no further proceedings had taken place since his indictment in 2022.
Montenegro, which arrested Kwon last March at Podgorica International Airport, extradited him to the U.S. on the 31st of last month. Although the South Korean government requested extradition to secure his custody, and Kwon himself hoped to go to South Korea, where the punishment is lighter than in the U.S., it ultimately did not happen.
Kwon is accused of deceiving investors related to the blockchain technology of TerraUSD (UST), a cryptocurrency issued by Terraform Labs, which he founded. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York initially indicted Kwon on eight charges following the Terra·Luna crash in 2022, and in the updated indictment filed on this day, money laundering charges were added.
Kwon has already lost a separate lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) apart from the criminal trial. Subsequently, Kwon agreed to pay $4.47 billion (approximately 6.5 trillion KRW) in disgorgement and fines to the SEC. However, his company later filed for bankruptcy.
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