ChainCatcher news, South Korean prosecutors have begun a comprehensive investigation into former Kakao chairman Kim Beom-soo (phonetic) and Kakao executives for allegations of embezzlement of virtual currency and breach of trust.The prosecution has transferred the case to the Southern District Prosecutors' Office's Joint Investigation Team for Virtual Asset Crimes and conducted the first plaintiff investigation on the 11th. On that day, prosecutors inquired in detail about the main allegations of the plaintiff, the legal background, and the amount of damages. It is reported that the prosecution also requested the plaintiff to submit additional data regarding the cryptocurrency Klay transaction details of Kakao affiliate executives.On the 13th of last month, former Kakao chairman Kim Beom-soo and executives of Kakao affiliates were indicted for embezzlement and breach of trust. The reason is that Kakao created the virtual currency "Klay" through its subsidiary, raising funds by selling it to investors and embezzling the proceeds. If fraudulent transactions as defined by the Capital Markets Act are confirmed in the allegations, investors who invested during this period can seek compensation for losses caused by the criminal acts.

ChainCatcher news, South Korean prosecutors are attempting to freeze $13 million in funds held by a Swiss bank related to Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon. Since Do Kwon's arrest in late March, tens of millions of dollars have been transferred from entities associated with the Terra project.Dan Sunghan, head of the Financial Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Seoul District Court, stated in an interview that $29 million worth of cryptocurrency was likely transferred by Do Kwon himself or under his direction. Do Kwon and his colleagues still hold over $13 million in funds at the Swiss Sygnum Bank, and South Korean prosecutors are trying to freeze these funds. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to The Wall Street Journal, South Korean prosecutor Dan Sung-han is competing with U.S. prosecutors for the right to extradite Do Kwon from Montenegro, believing that bringing Do Kwon back to South Korea would be the best way to seek justice for the victims of the TerraUSD cryptocurrency collapse.Previously, South Korean prosecutors indicted seven people, including Terraform co-founder Daniel Shin, on charges of fraud and violations of capital market laws and regulations related to electronic financial transactions and fundraising. If Do Kwon is extradited to South Korea, he will face similar charges. The extradition process will begin after Montenegrin authorities conclude the court proceedings regarding Do Kwon's passport forgery case. Legal experts indicate that South Korea may have an advantage in securing the extradition, as it is a signatory to the extradition treaty with Montenegro. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, a spokesperson for the Southern District Prosecutor's Office in Seoul said on Tuesday that they have frozen assets worth 7.1 billion won (approximately 5.36 million USD) belonging to Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon.It is reported that a court in Seoul is reviewing Do Kwon's assets both domestically and abroad in an effort to seek restitution. If the court approves, South Korea is expected to prevent Do Kwon from transferring or selling the identified assets. This money will be confiscated after a final guilty verdict is reached. The prosecutor's office confirmed that these assets include Do Kwon's deposits overseas, with one account located in Switzerland, and the Seoul prosecutors are requesting judicial cooperation. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, South Korean prosecutors stated that 9 former and current executives of Terraform Labs have illegally obtained assets amounting to approximately 414.5 billion won (about 314.2 million USD) from the project, of which about 91.4 billion won belongs to Do Kwon. However, these assets are not under South Korean jurisdiction, and most of them have likely been converted to Bitcoin and transferred to overseas cryptocurrency exchanges. Prosecutors have stated that they have requested Binance to block Do Kwon from withdrawing his cryptocurrency.Previous report, the Financial Securities Crime Joint Investigation Team of the Southern District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul has seized and confiscated approximately 270 billion won (about 205 million USD) in order to recover the improper benefits of Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin and 7 others. (KBS)

ChainCatcher news, if more evidence is found in the ongoing investigation, South Korean prosecutors will expand their investigation into local cryptocurrency exchanges accepting bribes to list certain tokens. It is reported that South Korea currently has no legal guidance regarding token listings, allowing exchanges to handle the listing process according to their own set of rules.Previously, a former employee of the South Korean crypto exchange Coinone, Jeon, was investigated by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office in February for allegedly receiving listing fees, amounting to hundreds of millions of Korean won. Following Coinone, employees of the crypto exchange Bithumb are also under investigation by the prosecution for allegedly accepting listing fees. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, a relevant person from the Southern District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, South Korea, refuted the claim made by the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice that "the U.S. extradition request for Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon was made before South Korea." The person stated, "Our Ministry of Justice submitted a request for the extradition of the criminal to Montenegro on March 24, while the U.S. made its request on the 25th. The day after Do Kwon was arrested on March 23, the Ministry submitted the extradition request via email and international courier." He also mentioned that the final extraditing country will be determined by the Montenegrin court, and it cannot be said which country would benefit. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, South Korean prosecutors are pushing for the arrest of Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin again. Previously reported, at the end of November last year, the South Korean prosecution had applied for a pre-arrest warrant for Terra co-founder Daniel Shin and seven others, but the warrant was rejected by the court. (Bloomberg)

ChainCatcher news, South Korean prosecutors and Justice Ministry officials traveled to Serbia last week to seek assistance in capturing Terra founder Do Kwon. The Seoul Prosecutor's Office has confirmed this news, while the prosecutor's office and the Justice Ministry declined to comment on Do Kwon's exact location.Previously, in December 2022, sources indicated that Terra founder Do Kwon is currently hiding in Serbia, and the South Korean Justice Ministry is collaborating with the Serbian government on investigations, including whether he has any special accomplices within Serbia.Subsequently, on-chain data showed that after Do Kwon recently entered Serbia, he transferred 9.64 BTC (worth nearly $190,000 at the time) from the LFG wallet to the Binance wallet on November 8. This is the first time on-chain data has captured Do Kwon exchanging Bitcoin for cash, such as US dollars, during his time on the run. Additionally, Interpol issued a red notice for Do Kwon in September of the same year. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, South Korean prosecutors have indicted 20 individuals for illegally remitting approximately 40 trillion won (about 3.2 billion USD) overseas, and for illegally profiting up to 210 billion won (about 17 million USD) from the cryptocurrency kimchi premium. South Korean officials have filed for detention against 11 of them, while the other 9 have not been detained.The defendants transferred funds to other countries and purchased cryptocurrencies by disguising them as foreign trade payments through 256 South Korean bank accounts between January 2021 and August 2022, and then sold the cryptocurrencies at high prices in South Korea. Prosecutors stated that given the kimchi premium rate was as high as 5% at the time of the violations, they are currently executing the procedure to confiscate a total of 13.1 billion won (about 10.6 million USD). (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to the Chosun Ilbo citing South Korean investigators, Terra founder Do Kwon is currently in Serbia, and the South Korean Ministry of Justice is cooperating with the Serbian government in the investigation, including whether he has any special accomplices within Serbia.ChainCatcher news, in October, South Korean prosecutors stated that Do Kwon flew from Dubai to an unknown location and have requested assistance from neighboring countries around Dubai for tracking. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Forkast, South Korean prosecutors have confirmed that Terra founder and CEO Do Kwon has left Singapore and flown to an unknown location via Dubai. The department and South Korean police have requested assistance from neighboring countries to track down Do Kwon's whereabouts.It is reported that since the collapse of Terra in early May this year, Do Kwon's whereabouts have been unknown, and many have speculated that he was in Singapore. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office has issued an arrest warrant for him, is in the process of invalidating his passport, and has requested Interpol to issue a "red notice" for Kwon. (Forkast)

ChainCatcher news, Terra founder Do Kwon stated in the crypto podcast Unchained that the charges against him by South Korean prosecutors are illegal and politically motivated, and he reiterated that he is not on the run and has not seen a copy of the arrest warrant. Do Kwon mentioned that, aside from the alleged violation of the Capital Markets Act, he is uncertain about the other charges he faces. Do Kwon refused to confirm whether he has left Singapore and declined to disclose his current whereabouts. (The Block)

Chain Catcher news, Terraform Labs believes that the actions of the Korean prosecutors after the collapse of UST and Luna are unfair, having highly politicized the case and failing to uphold the basic rights protected by Korean law. Terraform Labs argues that Luna has not been legally classified as a security, and therefore the relevant laws regarding capital markets in Korea do not apply. (Source link)

According to Chain Catcher news and reported by CoinDesk Korea, after the South Korean prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Terra founder Do Kwon, from September 15 to 18, the Terra Foundation Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) wallet transferred approximately 3,313 bitcoins (about $66.59 million) to the cryptocurrency exchanges KuCoin (1,354 BTC) and OKX (1,959 BTC).It is reported that the South Korean prosecutors subsequently applied to KuCoin to freeze the account, but OKX ignored the prosecution's freezing request, and the 1,959 BTC may have been transferred to another exchange. Prosecutors are closely investigating the transfer situation. (source link)

According to Chain Catcher news and Bloomberg, South Korean prosecutors stated that since Do Kwon went to Singapore, the unit has obtained "indirect evidence of his escape," which is why the arrest warrant was issued in the first place. South Korean prosecutors declined to comment on whether they know Do Kwon's whereabouts or plans to contact Interpol. Additionally, the Korea Herald reported that prosecutors said Do Kwon is not cooperating with the investigation and has informed investigators through his lawyer that he has no intention of appearing for questioning.Earlier reports indicated that South Korean prosecutors requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to impose administrative sanctions on Terra founder Do Kwon and four others, demanding the return of their passports; subsequently, Singapore police stated that Do Kwon is no longer in Singapore, and Do Kwon tweeted in response that he is not "on the run." (Bloomberg)