Kwon Requests a Five-Year Sentence
Do Kwon Requests U.S. Court to Cap His Prison Sentence at Five Years Amid Ongoing Legal Battles Tied to the $40 Billion Terra Luna Collapse
Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon has asked a U.S. court to limit his prison term to no more than five years. The request comes after Kwon pleaded guilty in a case tied to the collapse of the Terra Luna ecosystem, which in 2022 wiped out an estimated $40 billion.
In a 23-page filing submitted on November 26, his legal team argued that a sentence of up to five years would be sufficient. They addressed the prosecution’s stance, which suggests seeking as much as 12 years behind bars—an approach the defense claims fails to take all circumstances into account.
Kwon admitted in August to two fraud-related charges. The filing states that several external firms exploited vulnerabilities in the system, contributing to the project’s downfall. It also highlights that Kwon failed to disclose an agreement with Jump Trading, which in 2021 was meant to help maintain the UST peg. He later acknowledged that withholding this information misled investors.
The defense argues that Kwon did not act out of greed, but rather out of pressure and overconfidence. They also point to his nearly two-year detention in Montenegro, including time spent in isolation after his 2023 arrest for using a falsified passport. He still faces charges in South Korea, where prosecutors are seeking a 40-year sentence.
