On Saturday, the Seoul Central District Court declined to issue an arrest warrant for Daniel Shin, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, who has been accused of illicitly profiting from the blockchain firm’s downfall in cryptocurrencies.
Prosecutors had also requested the detainment of three other individuals and four engineers involved in the development of Terraform’s digital tokens: TerraUSD and Luna.
The investigation into potential fraud and tax avoidance was launched in response to complaints from Terraform investors. Do Kwon, the other co-CEO of the company, is still missing and an international arrest warrant, issued through Interpol, has been out for him since May.
Prosecutors suspect Shin of accumulating Luna tokens and selling them at high prices without informing regular investors.
Judge Hong Jin-pyo of the Seoul Southern District Court, despite recognizing the gravity of the accusations, refused the arrest warrant for the 37-year-old businessman. The court also refused to issue warrants to detain seven other individuals.
Currently, there are no legal regulations concerning bitcoins and stablecoins. According to prosecutors, they are concerned about the use of Luna cryptocurrency as a security investment. Shin could be guilty of breaching the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, as prosecutors allege that he was promoting Chai Corp., a fintech firm, without disclosing customer data or funds.
Shin has denied any connection with Terraform Labs following his exit. It was in March 2020 when Do began to found Chai. Shin resigned as CEO of Chai at the start of this year.
