Cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon has pleaded not guilty in his first appearance in a US court

New York — South Korean cryptocurrency tycoon Do Hyung-kwon on Thursday pleaded not guilty in a newly unsealed indictment released in time for his first appearance in a US court.

Kwon filed his plea in Manhattan federal court two days after his confession Extradition from Montenegro.

The indictment alleges that the man dubbed by some as the “King of Cryptocurrencies” lied to investors from 2018 to 2022 to trick them into pumping money into Terraform Labs, the Singaporean cryptocurrency company he co-founded.

Authorities say investors around the world have been hurt by Terraform Labs’ $40 billion cryptocurrency collapse.

the May 2022 collapses This came despite the company claiming that TerraUSD was a reliable “stablecoin.”

Kwon did not speak during his court appearance, except to admit that he understood English. His attorney, Andrew Chesley, has pleaded not guilty in two separate versions of the indictment charging him with conspiracy, as well as commodity, securities and wire fraud. The money laundering charge was added on Thursday.

Chesley and another defense attorney, David Patton, declined to comment immediately after leaving the courtroom. Their client was returned to federal prison after lawyers agreed to detain him.

The superseding indictment accused Kwon of deceiving investors by telling them that Terraform had developed new, reliable financial technologies that enabled it to transform blockchain technology into a self-contained, decentralized financial world with its own money, payment system, stock market, and savings bank.

“In reality, the financial world created by Kwon was built on lies and manipulative and deceptive tactics used to mislead investors, users, business partners, and government regulators” about Terraform’s business, the indictment said.

“Behind the scenes, Terraform’s core products did not work as Kwon advertised, and were manipulated to create the illusion of an efficient, decentralized financial system in order to attract investors,” she added.