Do Kwon Bolsters Defense, Hires Top Law Firm To Represent Him In US Lawsuits

KEY POINTS

Federal prosecutors in New York charged Kwon with eight separate charges in March
The U.S. SEC charged him and TFL with $60 billion securities fraud in February
A Montenegrin High Court overturned the lower court's decision on Kwon's bail this month.

Terraform Labs (TFL) co-founder and CEO Do Kwon has reportedly bolstered his defense by hiring a top law firm to represent him and help him get away with the legal charges filed against him in the U.S.

Over a year after the spectacular collapse of the so-called algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and Terra's native token LUNA, news surrounding Kwon remains rife online.

Kwon, who had already gained notoriety in the crypto world even before the crypto assets came crashing down in May 2022 because of his brash attitude, his knack for mouthing off and his fondness for doublespeaking, continues to make headlines after he was detained in Montenegro over possession of fake travel documents.

In response to the investigation and prosecution by U.S. federal prosecutors amid increasing chatter about his extradition, Kwon hired legal powerhouse and top six global law firm Dentons, Digital Asset reported.

Just hours after he was captured at Podgorica Airport in March, federal prosecutors in New York charged Kwon with fraud in connection to the $40 billion Terra crash in May 2022.

In a court filing signed by United States Attorney Damian Williams, prosecutors charged the TFL CEO with eight separate charges, including securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud and engage in market manipulation.

In February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the 31-year-old Stanford graduate and Terraform Labs for the $60 billion securities fraud involving TerraUSD and LUNA.

SEC chairman Gary Gensler said at the time that Kwon and Terraform Labs "failed to provide the public with full, fair and truthful disclosure," specifically for TerraUSD and LUNA.

"This case demonstrates the lengths to which some crypto firms will go to avoid complying with the securities laws, but it also demonstrates the strength and commitment of the SEC's dedicated public servants," Gensler further said.

Today we charged Singapore-based Terraform Labs PTE Ltd and Do Hyeong Kwon with orchestrating a multi-billion-dollar crypto asset securities fraud involving an algorithmic stablecoin and other crypto asset securities.
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) February 16, 2023

Kwon is currently in detention in Montenegro after the High Court revoked his bail this month.

It is worth noting, however, that this is not the first time for Dentons to represent Kwon.

Dentons, which is considered the largest law firm in the world in terms of the number of lawyers, represented the TFL CEO in 2021 when Kwon challenged the U.S. SEC's subpoena in its Mirror Protocol investigation.

Dentons also represented Kwon in a class action lawsuit filed against him in the Singapore High Court last year.

The mega law firm also represents Kwon's Terraform Labs in other lawsuits.