The pioneer of the stablecoin industry, Do Kwon, is currently seeking to defend his rights in order to recover payment for a house purchase.

This article is from: Business Times

Translated by: Azuma, Odaily

Editor's Note: The man who once stirred up the stablecoin world is now embroiled in a legal dispute over the recovery of a house payment.

As one of the most prominent names in the last bull market, Do Kwon's algorithmic stablecoin UST once had an issuance volume as high as tens of billions of US dollars. At the peak of LUNA, his personal net worth was also measured in “billions,” but all of this has vanished like a bubble. Now, Do Kwon is facing multiple charges including fraud in the US, Singapore, and other places. Recently, it was reported by the media that he is seeking to recover half of a house payment he made to a real estate developer before the UST crash, for a purchase that was never completed.

The following are the details of the story published by Business Times, citing Singaporean local media Lianhe Zaobao, and translated by Odaily.

According to Business Times citing Lianhe Zaobao, the Singapore High Court has dismissed a claim filed by Do Kwon, co-founder of the now-defunct blockchain company Terraform Labs. In this claim, Do Kwon requested that real estate developer SC Global return the payment he made for a luxury penthouse apartment on Orchard Road, Singapore.

Court documents show that five months before the collapse of cryptocurrencies UST and LUNA in 2022, Do Kwon had set his sights on a duplex four-bedroom penthouse on the 19th floor of Sculptura Ardmore, with an area of about 7,600 square feet (approximately 706 square meters). It was one of only three penthouses in the project, valued at 38.8 million Singapore dollars.

It is reported that Do Kwon paid a total of about 19.4 million Singapore dollars (including option fees and subsequent payments), which was almost half of the total price. However, the transaction was not completed, and the apartment was eventually resold for 34.5 million Singapore dollars.

Sculptura Ardmore was developed by real estate developer SC Global, launched in 2012 and completed in 2014. In 2017, Meta co-founder Eduardo Saverin also spent 60 million Singapore dollars to purchase a penthouse in this project.

It is said that SC Global forfeited the payments made by Do Kwon, but Do Kwon insisted that the forfeiture was invalid and filed a lawsuit with the Singapore High Court through his wife. However, the application was dismissed by the Singapore High Court on July 26.

In addition, Do Kwon and his wife also signed a 16-month lease with the developer (from February 2022 to June 2023), with a monthly rent of 40,000 Singapore dollars, a total prepaid rent of 640,000 Singapore dollars, and carried out extensive renovations to the apartment.

On May 17, 2023, Do Kwon authorized his wife to pay 1,000 Singapore dollars to exercise the purchase option, but the transaction was not completed before May 31, 2023. The purchase option and lease both expired on June 22, 2023, the transaction was terminated, and all amounts paid were retained by the developer.

However, Do Kwon's wife continued to live in the apartment until July 25, 2023, and paid an additional month's rent. SC Global accused them of breach of contract, demanding that Do Kwon and his wife pay another month's rent and claimed 90,000 Singapore dollars in repair costs. High Court judge Philip Jeyaretnam rejected SC Global's claim for repair costs but ruled that Do Kwon and his wife must pay another month's rent of 40,000 Singapore dollars and related legal fees.