South Korean authorities are increasing their efforts to locate and apprehend Shin Hyun-Seong, also known as Daniel Shin, co-founder of cryptocurrency platform Terra. This comes after the recent detention of his fellow co-founder, Do Kwon, who was apprehended in Montenegro while attempting to board a plane using counterfeit travel documents.
The authorities have been investigating numerous Terra colleagues for their suspected involvement in promoting unstable investment opportunities with Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) tokens since November 2022. However, with Kwon’s arrest on March 23, 2023, they are now attempting to apprehend Shin, according to a Bloomberg report. The prosecutors are reportedly renewing their efforts to detain Shin, but no official announcement has been made public yet.
The authorities previously accused Shin of earning roughly $105 million in profits from illegal sales of LUNA tokens before Terra’s collapse. However, Shin claims to have had no involvement in Terra since January 2020, as evidenced by his LinkedIn profile. Nonetheless, arrest warrants have been issued for Shin, along with three investors and four engineers, on charges of fraud, breach of duty, violation of capital markets law, and illegal fundraising.
Terra is a blockchain platform that allows developers to build decentralized applications and issue stablecoins. Terra has gained popularity in recent years, but its co-founders’ alleged involvement in illegal activities has cast a shadow over the platform’s reputation. Terra has not released an official statement regarding the arrests of its co-founders, but the company is likely to face scrutiny and questions from investors and regulators.
