Korean e-commerce exec accused of accepting LUNA for shilling Terra Labs

South Korean prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for the former CEO of Tmon, a Korean e-commerce platform, after taking billions of won in LUNA (LUNA), now known as LUNA Classic (LUNC), for promoting Terra as a simple payment gateway. 

Media outlet Dong-A Ilbo reported that the head of the financial and securities joint investigation team at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office requested an arrest warrant for bribery charges for the former Tmon CEO described as “Mr. A” and a person described as “broker B” who worked on lobbying in the financial sector in favor of Terra.

Mr. A allegedly received LUNC tokens from Terra co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong, also known as Daniel Shin, who in return asked him to extensively promote Terra as a simple means of payment. After this, Tmon advertised LUNC and spread the message that the token is a safe asset. According to the investigators, the promotions led to an increase in the token’s price by raising investors’ expectations.

The former Tmon CEO has allegedly made billions of won after selling the LUNC tokens received in exchange for the promotions. In addition to this, the report also highlighted that despite warnings from financial authorities, Shin has reportedly given money to other companies like Tmon to promote LUNC as a safe payment method.

Related: Legal troubles mount for Terraform Labs as Seoul police investigate

On Nov. 14, prosecutors in South Korea called on Shin to cooperate in the investigation of the Terra collapse. The authorities alleged that Shin had held LUNC tokens without the knowledge of investors and earned more than $105 million in illegal sales before the collapse of the company.

The prosecutors in charge of the case have been constantly expanding their investigations and focusing on other people involved. On Nov. 30, an arrest warrant for Shin, three Terra investors and four engineers responsible for the project were also issued by South Korean authorities.

All Dutch and English crypto news!

Bitwise applies for Ethereum ETF; Bitbot presale gathers steam with price expected to rise to $0.0141

Bitwise applies for Ethereum ETF emphasizing spot trading but omitting staking features. Bitbot presale raises over $1.6 million, BITBOT tokens currently going at $0.0134. Next Bitbot presale...

Ethena Labs exploited for $290k on Binance Launchpool

The exploit occurred hours after Ethena’s new ENA token was launched for farming on Binance. News Own this piece of crypto history Collect this article as NFT Join us...

Bitcoin shows ‘signs of exhaustion’ as Q1 BTC price gains near 70%

While there are reasons to be "very bullish" on Q2, the sheer speed of the Bitcoin and crypto bull market may be cause for concern,...

Binance entity HKVAEX withdraws Hong Kong license application post-deadline

The SFC website confirms that HKVAEX withdrew its license application nearly three months after the filing on Jan. 4, 2024. News Own this piece of crypto history Collect...

Beste exchanges

Koop je crypto bij Bitvavo