Terra co-founder Do Kwon loses bid to block US from seeking Singapore records

NEW YORK – The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can seek records from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as part of the United States regulator’s lawsuit against

Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon,

a judge ruled.

US District Judge Jed Rakoff at a hearing on Friday denied an application from Kwon and Terraform for an order forcing the SEC to withdraw its request for documents in the Singaporean regulator’s possession from the defendants and Luna Foundation Guard, a fund established to raise money for the sole purpose of keeping the TerraUSD stablecoin worth US$1, according to court records.

The SEC sued Kwon and Terraform in February, alleging that they offered and sold unregistered securities and carried out a scheme that wiped out at least US$40 billion (S$53.4 billion) worth of market value when the stablecoin collapsed. Kwon, who was arrested in Montenegro in March after several months on the run from the authorities in his native South Korea, has also been charged with fraud by US prosecutors in New York.

Kwon’s US lawyer, Mr Stephen Senderowitz, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. The SEC also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is not clear what records the SEC is seeking from MAS, but Terraform was based in Singapore. The police in Singapore said in March that they had launched a probe into the stablecoin’s collapse. This year’s crypto rout dealt a setback to Singapore’s earlier embrace of the potential of blockchain technology and spurred a tougher regulatory stance.

Both the US and South Korea are seeking Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro. South Korean prosecutors on Monday confirmed a report that they were investigating a

transfer of funds by Kwon to a top Seoul law firm

before Terra’s collapse. BLOOMBERG