Tag: South

  • Extradition of Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon to South Korea Stalls

    Extradition of Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon to South Korea Stalls

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    The extradition of Terraform Labs’ Co-Founder, Do Kwon, to South Korea has hit a roadblock as Montenegro’s Office of the Supreme State Prosecutor challenged against the court order yesterday (Thursday).

    The country’s top prosecutor argued that the High Court’s decision to extradite Kwon to South Korea instead of the United States was done in an “abbreviated proceeding” and exceeded the limits of the court’s reach. Interestingly, when hearing an appeal from Kwon’s lawyers, an appellate court subsequently confirmed the decision to the High Court.

    The Balkan country’s prosecutors requested protection of legality before the Supreme Court to stop the extradition of Kwon to South Korea. The prosecutors argued that only the Supreme Court can decide in this case.

    “The court, contrary to the law, conducted abbreviated, instead of regular proceedings and by exceeding the limits of its powers, made a decision on the extradition permit, which is the exclusive competence of the Minister of Justice,” the translated letter by the prosecutor stated.

    The tussle came only a day after an appeal court rejected the plea to block the extradition of Kwon to South Korea where he would face “several criminal offenses.”

    The US or South Korea?

    However, the United States wants to extradite Kwon from Montenegro. The US prosecutors have filed eight charges against him and might proceed with prosecuting him even in his absence. Additionally, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against both Terraform Labs and Kwon.

    Following the collapse of the two Terraform Labs’ cryptocurrencies, TerraUSD and Luna, in 2022, Kwon disappeared from public view. The US and South Korean authorities blamed him for the wipeout of the crypto market, which reached almost $37 billion and later caused the collapse and bankruptcy of several other projects. Kwon was arrested last year in Montenegro while traveling with false documents.

    Interestingly, other top associates from Terraform Labs, including the Co-Founder, Hyun-seong Shin, and the Chief Financial Officer, Han Chang-joon, were arrested with Kwon and were extradited to South Korea last month.

    The extradition of Terraform Labs’ Co-Founder, Do Kwon, to South Korea has hit a roadblock as Montenegro’s Office of the Supreme State Prosecutor challenged against the court order yesterday (Thursday).

    The country’s top prosecutor argued that the High Court’s decision to extradite Kwon to South Korea instead of the United States was done in an “abbreviated proceeding” and exceeded the limits of the court’s reach. Interestingly, when hearing an appeal from Kwon’s lawyers, an appellate court subsequently confirmed the decision to the High Court.

    The Balkan country’s prosecutors requested protection of legality before the Supreme Court to stop the extradition of Kwon to South Korea. The prosecutors argued that only the Supreme Court can decide in this case.

    “The court, contrary to the law, conducted abbreviated, instead of regular proceedings and by exceeding the limits of its powers, made a decision on the extradition permit, which is the exclusive competence of the Minister of Justice,” the translated letter by the prosecutor stated.

    The tussle came only a day after an appeal court rejected the plea to block the extradition of Kwon to South Korea where he would face “several criminal offenses.”

    The US or South Korea?

    However, the United States wants to extradite Kwon from Montenegro. The US prosecutors have filed eight charges against him and might proceed with prosecuting him even in his absence. Additionally, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against both Terraform Labs and Kwon.

    Following the collapse of the two Terraform Labs’ cryptocurrencies, TerraUSD and Luna, in 2022, Kwon disappeared from public view. The US and South Korean authorities blamed him for the wipeout of the crypto market, which reached almost $37 billion and later caused the collapse and bankruptcy of several other projects. Kwon was arrested last year in Montenegro while traveling with false documents.

    Interestingly, other top associates from Terraform Labs, including the Co-Founder, Hyun-seong Shin, and the Chief Financial Officer, Han Chang-joon, were arrested with Kwon and were extradited to South Korea last month.

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  • South Korea Narrows Down 11 Cryptocurrency Exchanges To Shut Down

    South Korea Narrows Down 11 Cryptocurrency Exchanges To Shut Down

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    The Financial Services Commission, the top financial regulator in South Korea, is supposedly staging a closedown for some cryptocurrency exchanges. This move is linked to allegations of fraud in these exchanges.

    The first move from the FSC is to temporarily stop the operations of about 11 average South Korean crypto exchanges. Reporting on Sunday, The Korea Herald, a local news agency, claimed that the FSC move is based on some unclear operations by these exchanges.

    Related Reading | Commercial Paper Reserves Of Tether Under Heavy Regulatory Scrutiny

    The report has it that these exchanges all allegedly had fraudulent collective accounts and some illegal activities.

    According to a news publication, while citing unknown industry sources, there are still no name disclosures of the exchanges. However, these exchanges are likely never going to get approvals for operations from the authorities.

    From the news sources, the FSC will decline the operational approval for all the affected crypto exchanges. Furthermore, this South Korean financial regulator plans to enforce stricter regulatory actions on minor exchanges.

    The news on the supposedly crash comes in the middle of the recent suspension of operations by some minor crypto exchange in South Korea. One of such suspensions is the announcement made by Bitsonic, a local cryptocurrency exchange, on Friday.

    A post on its official Telegram channel said the exchange would make temporary operational discontinuation due to internal and external challenges.

    Related Reading | Cardano Aims To Facilitate Users With Smart Contracts

    Similarly, CPDAX, another smaller crypto exchange, said it would cease operation from September 1. Aforenow, Darlbit exchange had closed operations. This was after it suspended withdrawals and deposit services the previous month.

    However, the FSC is yet to respond to its recent plans to crash these growing crypto exchanges.

    Stricter Regulatory Measures For Cryptocurrency Exchanges in South Korea

    Going by the recent trend of events, there has been stricter regulatory moves on crypto exchanges in South Korea. The country’s financial regulators mandated the full registration for all local crypto service platforms.

     South Korea Narrows Down 11 Cryptocurrency Exchanges To Shut down

    The cryptocurrency market has been flourishing for the past few days till today | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com

    In addition, the authorities gave them till September to establish non-fictitious trading accounts and recording systems. According to the report, customers’ real-name or non-fictitious accounts are part of the prerequisites to operate their businesses.

    In line with its regulatory measures, the FSC is planning to ban cross-trading among crypto exchanges. The agency views it as illegal trade since it conceals the flow of transactions.

    Cross trading is the means through which trading platforms buy or sell orders for an asset without a reflection in their order book. In addition, Cross-trading allows these cryptocurrency exchanges to earn trading fees. Thus, its banning will make a significant negative impact on their revenue stream.

    Related Reading | Tether To Conduct An Audit To Negate Claims Concerning Transparency

    Both the country’s average and minor crypto exchanges have been in a fix working by the instruction. For them, it’s not been easy trying to get approvals from the relevant authorities. However, the bigger shots like Coinone, Korbit, Bithumb, and Upbit get no daunt in the hurdle.

    Also, the recent regulatory measures in South Korea spread to the larger crypto exchanges in the country. A report from Yonhap News reveals that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday called up an investigation case.

    The case was an alleged fraud that connects Bithumb’s former chairman, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the country.

    Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView.com

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