Daniel Shin, the cofounder of Terraform Labs Pte., told South Korean prosecutors on Thursday that he did not sell the LUNA cryptocurrency at its peak before the token price imploded, local media outlet Global Economy Newspaper reported.

See related article: South Korea freezes Terra cofounder Daniel Shin’s US$104 mln in assets; CEO Do Kwon tweets he was wrong, not fraudulent

Fast facts

  • Shin, also known as Shin Hyun-seung, reportedly said he sold more than 70% of his LUNA tokens before its price surged, and held a significant amount of LUNA during the collapse of the Terra stablecoin and sister LUNA token in May. No details were given on gains or losses made.
  • South Korean prosecutors said Monday they summoned Shin based on allegations he earned profits of 140 billion Korean won (about US$104 million) by selling off pre-issued LUNA without proper disclosure.
  • On Thursday, South Korea’s Seoul Southern District Court approved the prosecutors’ request to freeze some US$104 million in assets allegedly belonging to Shin.
  • Shin is also accused of using the personal information of customers at Chai Corporation, a South Korea-based payments tech company that he established in 2019, to promote Terraform Labs without consent.
  • Shin and Chai Corporation have repeatedly denied any claims of involvement in the Terra-LUNA collapse, saying they cut ties with the project in 2020. 
  • Shin returned to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday following Thursday’s questioning, according to local media reports.
  • The South Korean prosecutors’ office investigating Shin has not immediately responded to Forkast’s request for further details, while a Chai spokesperson declined to comment or confirm the reports.

See related article: Terra cofounder Daniel Shin’s Chai Corp. raided by S.Korean authorities