SEC Raises Crimson Flags Over Terraform Labs’ $166M Fee to Legal professionals

• SEC contests Terraform Labs’ $166M fee to Dentons, labeling it suspicious.
• The regulator famous that $122 million of the fund was moved inside 90 days earlier than the chapter submitting. 
• Over half of the sum has already been expended to cowl litigation prices.

The U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) has urged the Delaware chapter courtroom to reject Terraform Labs’ retention of Dentons LLC as its particular counsel. This transfer comes because the SEC raised issues over a considerable fee of $166 million to Dentons, labeling the transaction “suspicious.”

In a current submitting, the SEC contended that Terraform Labs funneled $166 million into the Dentons Advance Fee Retainer. The regulator famous that a good portion, $122 million, was transferred inside 90 days previous to the chapter submitting. 

In keeping with the SEC, this maneuver seems to strip belongings from the corporate. It believes the transfer probably hinders Terraform Labs’ capacity to fulfill judgments ensuing from the SEC’s enforcement actions.

Moreover, the SEC alleges that the funds have been transferred to an “opaque slush fund” for authorized bills, impeding the rights of buyers and collectors looking for restitution in Terraform’s chapter. Whereas over half of the sum has already been expended to cowl litigation prices, $81 million stays throughout the Dentons Advance Fee Retainer.

In the meantime, the SEC contends {that a} portion of the funds was allotted to cowl authorized bills associated to Terra’s former CEO Kwon Do-hyeong’s felony proceedings in Montenegro. In response, the SEC has requested the courtroom to nominate a price examiner to scrutinize the suspicious timing and quantity of the retainer fee. 

This transfer comes amid Terraform Labs’ Chapter 11 chapter submitting final month. Terraform Labs, the entity behind the ill-fated algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD and crypto Luna, faces mounting authorized challenges following allegations of defrauding buyers by way of unregistered digital currencies. 
Its former CEO, Kwon Do-hyeong, is awaiting extradition from Montenegro after his arrest in March final yr.