Do Kwon: Wanted South Korean crypto developer says he is ‘not on the run’ in sarcastic tweets

Do Kwon, South Korea’s co-founder of the failed cryptocurrency Terra, has issued a series of sarcastic Tweets denying that he is on the run and saying police have no “business” knowing his location.

Mr Kwon is facing an arrest warrant in South Korea along with five other people for allegedly violating capital markets law.

His whereabouts have been the subject of international intrigue after the prosecutor’s office in Seoul said on 14 September that he was in Singapore, but the city-state’s police said on Saturday night that Mr Kwon is not there.

“I will tell you what i am doing and where i am if: 1) we are friends 2) we have plans to meet 3) we are involved in a gps based web3 game. Otherwise you have no business knowing my gps coordinates,” he said in a tweet.

“I am not ‘on the run’ or anything similar – for any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don’t have anything to hide,” he added.

The developer said they are “in the process of defending ourselves in multiple jurisdictions”.

“We have held ourselves to an extremely high bar of integrity, and look forward to clarifying the truth over the next few months,” he said.

I am not “on the run” or anything similar - for any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don’t have anything to hide

— Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) September 17, 2022

Mr Kwon was the primary developer of the cryptocurrencies Luna and TerraUSD, whose spectacular collapse in May roiled crypto markets around the world.

Investors in the two coins lost an estimated $42bn, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.

He is facing a months-long investigation after five investors based in South Korea accused him and others of fraud. He is being investigated by the financial crimes unit in South Korea and in the US by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the series of Twitter posts, Mr Kwon also quipped that he has not gone running in a while even though he needs to “cut some calories”.

Tbh havent gone running in a while, need to cut some calories https://t.co/SP9VtS5ob2

— Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) September 17, 2022

The South Korean prosecutor’s office is trying to seek permission from the foreign ministry to have his passport revoked, which would force his return within 14 days.

On Saturday night, Singapore’s police said: “Do Kwon is currently not in Singapore”.

“SPF will assist the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) within the ambit of our domestic legislation and international obligations,” the statement added.

As well as the losses to investing in the failed tokens, the collapse of the two cryptocurrencies in May rocked the wider crypto market sparking losses estimated to be worth more than $500bn. The fallout sparked public outrage in South Korea.