SEC agrees to delay Terra trial so that Do Kwon can attend proceedings SEC agrees to delay Terra trial so that Do Kwon can attend proceedings
Despite the regulator's consent, the judge has not agreed to postpone the trial.
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Updated: Jan. 15, 2024 at 8:57 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to delay a trial against Terraform Labs and its former top executive, Reuters said on Jan. 15.
The regulator said that a “modest” delay of the trial date is justified because Terraform Labs’ co-founder, Do Kwon, intends to attend the trial.
Reuters said that Kwon has agreed to extradition from Montenegro and could arrive in the U.S. by mid-March. Whereas the trial was originally scheduled for Jan. 29, the SEC has agreed to delay the trial to April 15.
Reports of Kwon’s own attempts to delay the trial first emerged on Jan. 11. At that time, Kwon’s lawyers sought to have the trial delayed to March 18, nearly one month before the date suggested by the SEC itself. Kwon’s lawyer added that he would not seek further adjournments if Kwon is not able to attend.
Despite agreement from both parties, Judge Jed Rakoff, who presides over the case, must still decide whether to grant the request.
SEC is opposed to separate trials
The SEC also said in its latest filing that it is against holding separate trials for Terraform Labs and Kwon. It said that the two cases are nearly identical and that two separate trials would require repeat testimony.
Reuters cited a court filing that is not currently publicly available as its source. Neither the SEC or Terraform Labs have commented on the matter.
The SEC originally charged Terraform Labs in February 2023, when it alleged that the crypto company committed billions of dollars worth of fraud. Though the case has not concluded, a judge issued summary judgments in December, favoring Terra and the SEC on two separate issues.
Previous developments indicate that Kwon is serving a prison sentence for passport fraud in Montenegro. His sentence is expected to last until Feb. 15, meaning that he could be released before his extradition for the upcoming trial.
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Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
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Terraform Labs
Terraform Labs is a startup that created Terra, a blockchain protocol and payment platform used for algorithmic stablecoins.
Do Kwon began his professional journey as an engineer, contributing to tech giants Apple and Microsoft.