Coinspeaker
Terra Co-Founder Daniel Shin Appears in South Korean Court with Seven Others
Terraform Labs co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong, also known as Daniel Shin, reportedly had his first trial preparation hearing on Monday, July 10 for charges related to “unfair profits” from the sale of Terra (LUNA). This comes after the founder’s indictment in April on charges of fraud and violation of capital markets law.
According to local media, Shin and seven others we summoned to appear before a Seoul Southern District Court to face charges of fraud, breach of duty, embezzlement and Violation of the Capital Markets Act. Shin reportedly did not appear in person but was represented by his legal team. Prosecutors allege that the accused deceived investors by presenting the Terra project as more successful than it was in reality. The eight are accused of manipulating the prices of digital assets through transactions and inaccurate media reports starting in 2018. The groups reportedly realised about 462.9 billion Korean won (about $357 million) in illicit profits.
Daniel Shin, who co-founded Terraform Labs with Do Kwon, allegedly sold about $118 million in LUNA before the token crashed in May of 2022. He is accused of using similar tactics with the intention of profiting from investor funds at Chai Corporation, the fintech company he went on to create following his departure from Terraform Labs.
Shin’s defence has denied reports that he “sold Luna at a high point and realized profits or that he made profits through other illegal methods”. It is also worth noting that while Shin’s LinkedIn profile suggests that he had not been involved with Terraform Labs’ operations since January 2020, it is not clear if he still had any investments in the company’s shares or tokens.
The founder’s defence requested more time from Judge Jang Seong-hoon who granted the motion.
“We will check the opinions of the lawyers and reopen the trial preparation date to decide the opportunity for defence and the order of interrogation,” Judge Seong-hoon ruled.
A new hearing is scheduled for August 28.
Meanwhile, South Korean authorities are seeking extradition for Terra’s other co-founder Do Kwon who is currently serving a four-month sentence in Montenegro following his arrest in March for using forged travel documents. He was sentenced in June and faces extradition to either his home country of South Korea or the United States once his sentence is complete.
South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for Do Kwon in September 2022 following the May 2022 collapse of Terra platform and the depegging of its USTC algorithmic stablecoin. Following the collapse, authorities decided to look into Do Kwon and Daniel Shin’s alleged illegal transactions before and during the crash.
Terra Co-Founder Daniel Shin Appears in South Korean Court with Seven Others
