Do Kwon, the original maverick of the stablecoin industry, is now维权ing to recover property purchase payments
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Do Kwon, the original maverick of the stablecoin industry, is now维权ing to recover property purchase payments
Before the 2022 UST collapse, Do Kwon had prepaid half the price for a 700-square-meter penthouse apartment but ultimately failed to complete the purchase.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: Business Times
Translated by: Azuma, Odaily Planet Daily
Editor's Note: The man who once shook the stablecoin world is now embroiled in a legal dispute over reclaiming down payments for a property purchase.
As one of the most prominent figures during the last bull run, Do Kwon's algorithmic stablecoin UST once reached an issuance volume of tens of billions of dollars. At the peak of LUNA, his net worth was measured in billions. But all that has now vanished like a bubble. Today, Do Kwon faces multiple charges including fraud in jurisdictions such as the United States and Singapore. Recently, media reports revealed he is attempting to recover half of a down payment made—before the UST collapse—for a property purchase that ultimately did not go through.
Below are details of the story reported by Business Times citing Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, translated by Odaily Planet Daily.
According to Lianhe Zaobao cited by Business Times, Singapore’s High Court has dismissed a claim filed by Do Kwon, co-founder of the now-defunct blockchain firm Terraform Labs, seeking reimbursement from property developer SC Global for down payments on a luxury penthouse in Singapore’s Orchard Road area.
Court documents show that five months before the 2022 collapse of the cryptocurrencies UST and LUNA, Do Kwon had set his sights on a duplex four-bedroom penthouse on the 19th floor of Sculptura Ardmore. The unit spans approximately 7,600 square feet (about 706 square meters) and is one of only three penthouses in the project, valued at 38.8 million SGD.
Do Kwon reportedly paid a total of about 19.4 million SGD (including option fees and subsequent installments), nearly half the total price. However, the transaction was never completed, and the apartment was eventually resold for 34.5 million SGD.
Sculptura Ardmore was developed by property developer SC Global and launched in 2012, completing in 2014. In 2017, Meta co-founder Eduardo Saverin purchased another penthouse in the same development for 60 million SGD.
SC Global allegedly confiscated the payments made by Do Kwon, but he maintained the forfeiture was invalid and initiated a lawsuit through his wife at Singapore’s High Court. The application was rejected by the High Court on July 26.
In addition, Do Kwon and his wife had signed a 16-month lease with the developer (from February 2022 to June 2023) at a monthly rent of 40,000 SGD, prepaying a total of 640,000 SGD, and carried out extensive renovations to the apartment.
On May 17, 2023, Do Kwon authorized his wife to pay a 1,000 SGD fee to exercise the purchase option, but the transaction failed to complete by May 31, 2023. Both the purchase option and lease expired on June 22, 2023, terminating the deal, with all paid amounts retained by the developer.
However, Do Kwon’s wife continued living in the apartment until July 25, 2023, paying an additional month’s rent. SC Global accused them of breaching the agreement, demanding an extra month’s rent and claiming 90,000 SGD in repair costs. High Court Judge Philip Jeyaretnam dismissed SC Global’s claim for repair costs but ruled that Do Kwon and his wife must pay an additional month’s rent of 40,000 SGD along with related legal fees.
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