It is believed that Daniel Shin sold $118 million in LUNA right before the collapse of Terraform Labs' ecosystem.
The judicial journey for Shin Hyun-Seong, also recognized as Daniel Shin, co-founder of Terraform Labs, has officially begun in South Korea.
According to the news report, the South Korean news portal News1 Korea revealed that a pre-trial meeting was held in Seoul's Southern District Court for Shin and seven assumed accomplices.
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The hearing follows the indictment lodged against them in April. The prosecution claims that the defendants defrauded investors, manipulating token prices through media manipulation and transactions beginning in 2018. Consequently, this allegedly led to "unfair profits" of around 462.9 billion Korean won, equating to more than $354 million.
Shin allegedly offloaded approximately $118 million in LUNA before a dramatic price plunge in May 2022. Shin's attorney, in defense, denied the allegation that his client "sold Luna at a high point and realized profits or that he made profits through other illegal methods."
In related news, Do Kwon, another co-founder of Terra, found himself in legal trouble. Arrested in Montenegro in March over accusations of using forged travel documents, he was sentenced to four months in jail in June.
Upon completing his jail sentence, he could be extradited either to the United States or South Korea. South Korean authorities issued a warrant for Kwon's arrest in September 2022, alleging violations of the nation's capital market laws.
May 2022 witnessed the collapse of Terra, acting as the initial catalyst for a wider crypto market crash. The company's algorithmic stablecoin, USTC, deviated from its peg to the US dollar, stirring up an investigation into the alleged illicit activities of both Kwon and Shin before and during the market tumble.
