A South Korean court held the first hearing for Daniel Shin, the disgraced co-founder of defunct crypto firm Terraform Labs. The hearing came more than two months after Shin was initially indicted by South Korean prosecutors on multiple charges including fraud and violation of capital markets law.
According to a recent report by local media, the Seoul Southern District Court held the first hearing for a case against Daniel Shin and seven others formerly employed by Terraform Labs. News1 Korea reported that lawyers representing Shin cited the technicality of the case and asked for additional time in order to prepare for his defense.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office’s Financial Securities Crimes Joint Investigation Department indicted Daniel Shin and seven others on April 25, 2023. The charges included fraud, embezzlement, and violations of the Capital Markets Act, among others. At the time, Shin’s lawyers dismissed the charges.
South Korean prosecutors accused Daniel Shin of making unfair profits amounting to 462.9 billion won ($354 million) by manipulating and misleading investors of Terraform Labs. The prosecutors previously described Terra’s stablecoin project as a “fictitious” scheme that was bound to fail. At least 247 billion won ($192 million) worth of assets linked with Shin and his associates have been frozen so far.
The disgraced co-founder maintained that he exited the crypto firm before the failures that led to its implosion and wiped off a whopping $40 billion from the crypto market. The top prosecutor in Seoul previously claimed that Shin’s role in Terra’s operations and collapse was greater than that of Do Kwon, the firm’s other founder.
The next trial preparation date has been set for August 28, 2023. Prosecutors failed to secure an arrest warrant for Daniel Shin despite multiple attempts. The Terra co-founder appeared in court for questioning in March this year.
