US court begins civil trial in Terraform Labs fraud case... Do-Kwon fails to appear

According to Reuters, a civil trial filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Terraform Labs and its founder, Do-Hyung Kwon, for fraud is scheduled to begin today (Aug. 25) in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Mr. Kwon, who was recently released from prison in Montenegro and transferred to an alien detention center, is expected to be absent from the trial. The SEC has filed a civil lawsuit against Terraform Labs and Mr. Kwon, alleging that the company misled investors by overstating the stability of the dollar peg of TeraUSD (USTC, formerly UST) and falsely claiming that the Tera blockchain was being used to power a popular mobile payment app in South Korea, seeking penalties and an order barring Mr. Kwon from the financial industry.

Meanwhile, The South Korean government is set to take possession of a $2 million real estate property purchased in Serbia by CFO Han Chang-joon, who is said to be a close confidant of Terraform Labs founder Kwon Do-hyung, DL News reported. Boris Majlat, the prosecutor in charge of Kwon's case in Serbia, said, "The property was purchased by Han Chang-joon when he and Do-hyung Kwon were on the run, and the seizure process will be conducted soon. After the procedure is completed, it will be transferred to the ownership of the South Korean government." Earlier, prosecutors handed over Han Chang-joon from Montenegrin authorities under an extradition process, and he is currently on trial.