While Do Kwon’s extradition has yet to be decided in Montenegro, the Terraform Labs founder’s wife, Ms Lee, has won a major legal victory against the South Korean state. The court ruled that some real estate shares and subscription rights of officetel, previously seized in Ms Lee’s name, should not have been subject to seizure by the state, as reported by local media outlet Naver. reported Exclusively today.
Do Kwon’s Husband Wins Big Prize
Judge Joo Chae-kwang, presiding judge of the 12th Civil Division, issued his verdict on June 19, finding that the properties were Lee’s separate property, acquired independently during her marriage. The properties in question include a multi-use apartment in Seongsu-dong and Officetel subscription rights in Nonhyeon-dong, collectively valued at about KRW 233.3 billion (about $183 million).
The court noted that the funds used for these investments came from Ms Lee’s income and investments in cryptocurrencies, including large transactions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. These were managed through her personal wallets, with no clear evidence of Do Kwon’s control over these assets.
“The state does not authorize the seizure of real estate located in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, and the subscription fees and claims for refund of the subscription fee of Officetel located in Nonhyeon-dong, based on the court’s decision to preserve recovery against Kwon,” the judgment said. “The seizure and its execution are suspended until this decision is final.”
The decision is particularly notable because it challenges the state’s previous assumption that the assets were acquired by Do Kwon and merely registered in Ms Lee’s name to potentially conceal assets. “If, as the state assumes, Mr Kwon acquired the shares of this real estate in his wife’s name in order to conceal criminal proceeds, it is difficult to understand why he only acquired a 10% interest in Ms Lee’s name, and not the entirety or at least 50%,” the court explained.
In addition, the court rejected the State’s claims that the crypto assets used for these purchases belonged to Do Kwon. “The burden of proof regarding the fact that virtual assets, such as Bitcoin, which can be considered the ultimate source of funds for the acquisition of the real estate interest, belong to Kwon, makes it difficult to conclude that the owner of the virtual assets or the source of funds “It is Kwon who is responsible for their acquisition,” the court concluded.
The move comes amid ongoing legal proceedings involving Do Kwon himself, who is currently being held in Montenegro awaiting a decision on his extradition to the United States or South Korea. reported by Bitcoinist, the Supreme Court of Montenegro has annulled the extradition Do Kwon’s attorney general left South Korea in early April and referred the case to the High Court in Podgorica.
The South Korean state appealed the decision on July 1, saying legal disputes over assets linked to the Do Kwon family are set to continue.
At press time, Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) was trading at $0.00007253.
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