South Korean watchdog reportedly fines Terraform Labs $78M for tax evasion

According to South Korean corporate tax laws, foreign-registered companies are treated as domestic if the decision-making process and operations are carried out from the country.

Terraform Labs and co-founder Do Kwon continue to attract more legal trouble in the wake of the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. After early reports of a possible congressional hearing and an investigation from ‘Grim Reapers’ financial crimes unit, the crypto firm has now come under the radar of the national tax agency.

According to a report published in Naver news, South Korea’s national tax agency has slapped the Terraform Labs and its co-founder with a 100 billion won ($78 million) penalty for tax evasion charges.

The report highlighted that the Kwon was unhappy with crypto taxation in the country since last December and tried to liquidate Terra’s domestic operations just before the infamous LUNA crash set in.

Terraform Labs reportedly first came under the radar of tax authorities in June last year on suspicion of evading corporate and income tax. The investigation into Terraform Labs and its various subsidiaries revealed that the company was registered in the Virgin Islands as well as Singapore.

Related: Analysts assess the aftermath of the Terra (LUNA) collapse

Although both the subsidiaries were registered abroad, the ‘place of actual management’ was South Korea itself. According to Korea’s corporate tax act, the place of actual management is considered for tax purposes than the registered country.

The tax authorities were alerted after Terraform Labs sent Luna from Terra Singapore to Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) to avoid taxations or make up for the losses of anchor protocol.

Earlier in October, Virgin Islands subsidiaries of Terra were fined 4.66 billion won ($3.6 million) income tax and 44.7 billion won ($34.7 million) in corporate tax.

South Korea’s law enforcement agencies and policymakers have come down heavily on Do Kwon and his associates in the aftermath of the LUNA crash. A special financial crime investigation unit called “Grim Reapers of Yeouido” was recalled after 2.5 years to look into the project.