Hunt is on for man blamed for triggering $89b crypto meltdown

South Korean prosecutors have asked Interpol for help in arresting Do Kwon, the progenitor of a $US60 billion ($89 billion) cryptocurrency wipeout, as they seek to charge him with alleged crimes including breaking capital-markets laws.

“Prosecutors on Monday have made a request to Interpol for their assistance to locate Kwon, whose whereabouts remain unknown, and to have him handed over to Korea,” the prosecutors’ office said late on Monday in a text message.

Interpol would typically issue a red notice seeking assistance from law enforcement globally to make an arrest after receiving an official request for help. It could take about a week before a notice is issued.

Kwon had moved from South Korea to Singapore, where his now collapsed Terraform Labs project had a base, but the city-state says he’s no longer there. Kwon has denied being on the run, even as prosecutors in Seoul seek his detention and say he’s trying to avoid redress.

There has been “circumstantial evidence of escape” ever since he left for Singapore, and that is why an arrest warrant was issued in the first place, the prosecutors’ office said earlier.

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The implosion of the TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin and its sister token Luna sparked huge losses in crypto markets, which were already reeling from tightening monetary policy. Digital assets have yet to recover and regulators are pouring over the wreckage to see how to avoid a repeat.

In South Korea, earlier ardour for crypto is being usurped by growing disdain.

Kwon tweeted over the weekend that he doesn’t “have anything to hide” and is in “full co-operation” with officials but didn’t publicly reveal his location.