Do Kwon wants a shorter sentence in the US. He says he has suffered enough

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has asked a U.S. court to limit his prison sentence to five years. Reason? There is a separate case pending against him in South Korea.

Do Kwon wants to get out of prison

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon asked a US judge to limit his prison sentence to five years. He believes the longer sentence is too harsh given the sentence he has already served and the sentences he has agreed to accept.

In August, he pleaded guilty to two charges – wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. It all happened after he was extradited from Montenegro, where he was arrested after trying to fly out of Dubai using a forged passport. His lawyers now recall that he spent almost three years behind bars, “more than half of which in brutal conditions in Montenegro.” In their opinion, he paid a “high personal and financial price” for his sins.

As part of the plea agreement, U.S. prosecutors agreed not to seek a sentence longer than 12 years, but the defense said a sentence longer than five years was “far greater than necessary” to achieve justice. As part of the plea agreement, Kwon agreed to forfeit more than $19 million and several properties.

Kwon will go to prison in South Korea

However, even if Kwon is released from prison in the US, his legal problems will not end. Prosecutors in South Korea are investigating a separate case related to Terra and are demanding a sentence of up to 40 years in prison for the former CEO.

Kwon is currently awaiting sentencing in the US, which will be handed down on December 11.

It is worth adding that the creator of Terra made his situation worse. After the collapse of his company in 2022, he went into hiding for many months. He was caught by the services only at the airport in Montenegro. He served four months in prison there. Reason? The above-mentioned attempt to cross the border using a false identity document. U.S. and South Korean officials then fought to take it over.

Kwon is not the only cryptocurrency figure who escaped punishment, but is now seeking a lenient sentence. In 2024, a federal judge sentenced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison. Earlier this month, the case returned to court as the former president appealed against his conviction. His lawyers argued that he was denied a fair trial. The defense attorney argues that the jury never heard evidence to suggest that FTX was still solvent when it formally went bankrupt. In addition, Bankman-Fried’s image was marred by a not entirely true narrative about the theft of clients’ funds.