US SEC Requests Testimony from Terra's Kwon Do-hyung... Likely for Civil Lawsuit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly requested the Montenegrin authorities to conduct a "testimony hearing" for Kwon Do-hyung, the 32-year-old CEO of Terraform Labs, who is the main culprit behind the cryptocurrency 'Terra·Luna' crash incident.

According to the Montenegrin daily newspaper 'Pobjeda' on the 29th (Korean time), the SEC submitted a request to the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice on the 13th to interrogate CEO Kwon by next month 13th for a lawsuit proceeding in a U.S. civil court. In response, the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice promptly forwarded the request to the competent court, and the Montenegrin court expressed its intention to hold a hearing on either the 13th or 26th of next month.

Kwon Do-hyung, CEO of Terraform Labs

A testimony hearing is a process where, if a witness cannot testify in court during a lawsuit, questions are asked to the witness outside the courtroom to obtain testimony. A testimony hearing, where the witness testifies under oath, holds the same legal effect as testimony given in court.

The SEC's request for a testimony hearing became known after CEO Kwon's legal team publicly disclosed a motion filed with the U.S. Southern District Court of New York asking for the SEC's request to be dismissed. The legal team opposed CEO Kwon being interrogated in Montenegro and stated that the proposal to answer questions without the presence of legal counsel infringes on constitutional rights. However, the document specifies that CEO Kwon himself does not oppose the testimony hearing.

Since the SEC cannot immediately bring CEO Kwon to a U.S. court, it is interpreted that they intend to have him take an oath and give a statement in Montenegro, which they will then use in the civil lawsuit. In February, the SEC filed charges against CEO Kwon for securities fraud. Following this, the New York federal prosecutors indicted him a month later on eight charges including fraud and market manipulation.

CEO Kwon, along with his close associate Han Mo, was arrested on March 23 at Podgorica International Airport, the capital of Montenegro, while attempting to leave for Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), using a forged Costa Rican passport, and was subsequently indicted. After the arrest, they were detained at Spu? prison on the outskirts of Podgorica and were each sentenced to four months in prison by the Podgorica District Court on June 19.

In the same month, the higher court, the Podgorica High Court, extended the detention period of CEO Kwon and Han by six months to secure custody necessary for extradition. During this period, the Podgorica High Court will decide whether to extradite CEO Kwon to South Korea or the United States.

CEO Kwon co-founded Terraform Labs, which issued the cryptocurrency 'Terra·Luna.' Due to the Terra·Luna crash incident last year, investors worldwide suffered losses exceeding 50 trillion won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.