Terra blockchain’s native LUNA tokens soared Friday amid reports that Terra founder Do Kwon and Terraform Labs had struck a tentative settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in their civil fraud case.
The attorneys representing both parties revealed during a conference call held before Judge Jed Rakoff on May 29 that they had “reached a settlement in principle”. The settlement terms are expected to be finalized and handed in for court approval by June 12, 2024.
While the exact details of the settlement were not publicized, the SEC had demanded civil financial penalties, with the regulator seeking an astounding $5.3 billion and orders prohibiting Kwon and his companies from ever operating in the securities market again. Meanwhile, Terraform Labs proposed a considerably lower penalty of $1 million.
In April, a New York jury found Terraform and Kwon liable for defrauding investors in its civil lawsuit with the SEC after a nine-day trial. The parties were scheduled to attend a trial hearing on May 29, but it was canceled due to the ongoing settlement talks.
The SEC’s case against Terraform centered on Terraform Labs and Kwon’s misleading promotion about the stability of their stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), and other Terra-related tokens. Terra’s implosion wiped out $40 billion in investor funds and was described as the main trigger in a wider collapse of the crypto market.
Terra’s revived LUNA token is up 15.5% in the past 24 hours to change hands at $0.682, while Terra Luna Classic (LUNC), the native token of the original Terra network, has gained 7.8% on the day, trading for $0.0001199.
Nonetheless, the settlement with the SEC has only partly resolved Kwon’s myriad legal woes. The embattled ex-Terra chief still faces criminal fraud charges lodged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as charges of fraud, bribery, fabricating transaction volume, and breaking capital markets laws in his home country, South Korea.
Kwon was put behind bars in Montenegro in March 2023 for attempting to flee to Dubai using fake travel documents. He was later released on bail, and the U.S. and South Korea have been engaged in a months-long jurisdictional tug-of-war to deport the fallen crypto star, with a series of requests frequently being approved and denied by Montenegro’s courts. Kwon is to remain in Montenegro until it is determined which country he should be extradited to.
