Interpol issues red notice for crypto boss after Terra Luna collapse

Interpol has issued a Red Notice against the founder of a cryptocurrency that crashed by more than 99 per cent earlier this year, according to reports.

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon oversaw the collapse of the Terra Luna and UST cryptocurrencies in May, wiping out more than $40 billion in investors’ funds.

The Red Notice is considered the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant, serving as a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest the person.

Interpol is yet to publicise the Red Notice on its website by Bloomberg reported that the international criminal police organisation had put the notice in place over the weekend.

Interpol’s involvement follows a request from prosecutors in South Korea, who are investigating allegations of fraud and financial crimes.

Following speculation of his whereabouts last week, Mr Kwon claimed that he was in the process of defending Terraform Labs in “multiple jurisdictions” but denied there was any warrant for his arrest.

“I am not ‘on the run’ or anything similar,” he tweeted. “For any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don’t have anything to hide.”

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office refuted this claim, telling local media outlet Yonhap that they had “circumstantial evidence” that Kwon was attempting to escape.

The price collapse of Terraform Lab’s LUNA cryptocurrency and its associated stablecoin UST contributed to a broader sell-off across the crypto market, with some investors claiming to have lost their life’s savings.

Terra Luna has since rebranded to Luna Classic (LUNC) and is currently ranked as the 33rd most valuable cryptocurrency, according to CoinMarketCap’s price index.