[Blockchain Today Reporter Jihye Han] The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agreed to Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon's request to postpone the trial, but opposed separating his case from Terraform Labs' case.
According to Cointelegraph on the 15th (local time), in a document submitted to the Southern District Court of New York on this day, the SEC said, "We are fully prepared, willing and able to proceed," regarding Mr. Kwon's trial scheduled for January 29. We agreed to the defense team's request to postpone the trial start date until after March 18, after repatriation to the United States.
The legal team is handling legal issues regarding Kwon's extradition to the United States following his arrest in Montenegro in March 2023.
“We agree to slightly postpone the trial date to allow Mr. Kwon to participate in the trial,” the SEC said in the filing. “If the trial date is postponed, the SEC hopes to begin the trial on April 15, 2024.”
Previously, on January 11, Kwon's lawyers argued to Judge Jed Rakoff, "The extradition process to the United States, which began after he was detained in Montenegro, is progressing more slowly than expected," and added, "The January trial will be held for Terraform Labs co-founder Kwon Do-hyung. He requested that it be postponed until he can directly participate in the defense.”
The SEC agreed to the request to postpone the trial date, but opposed separating Kwon's case from the SEC and Terraform's cases. When the SEC filed the complaint in February 2023, it named both Kwon and Terraform Labs as defendants.
“Holding two trials would require witnesses, including SEC whistleblowers and financially strapped individual investors, to unnecessarily testify twice on the same facts in different trials,” the SEC explained.
hjh@blockchaintoday.co.kr
