The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States is seeking $4.7 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest from bankrupt Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon. The regulator is further seeking civil penalties of $420 million from Terraform and $100 million from Kwon.
The Regulator Seeks a Hefty Sum
The regulator’s request for monetary recovery and penalties was revealed in a motion it filed last Friday with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The motion also seeks a ban on Kwon from serving as an officer or director of a securities issuer. He is also required to provide complete details of all his accounts and assets.
Meanwhile, legal representatives of Terraform and Kwon have filed briefs for potential remedies in the civil case simultaneously, suggesting a maximum monetary penalty of $3.5 million from the company and $800,000 from Kwon.
However, the court has yet to rule on the newly filed motion. In an earlier ruling, the US court found Terraform Labs and Kwon liable for fraud in the case brought by the SEC.
The trial against Kwon in the US proceeded in his absence.
“Defendants have not shown remorse for their conduct, nor can there be any doubt that they are in the position where additional violations are not only possible but likely are already occurring,” the motion by the SEC noted.
“The Court should send an unequivocal message that this sort of brazen misconduct, and Defendants’ misbegotten attempt to excuse their behavior by crafting new rules and standards of behavior for crypto markets in contravention of the federal securities laws [...] will not be tolerated.”
Kwon’s Fate Hangs in the Balance
Kwon was known for building Terraform Labs. However, the two cryptocurrencies of the project, TerraUSD and Luna, collapsed in 2022, resulting in the wipeout of about $37 billion in value. The collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin triggered the shuttering and collapse of several other cryptocurrency companies.
He disappeared immediately from public sight after the collapse of his company but was arrested in Montenegro last year while traveling with fake travel documents. Both South Korea and the United States have been trying to extradite him. Meanwhile, he was released from the Montenegro prison on bail due to some technical issues in the extradition ruling against him.
