New York, new-a recent US Ministry of the Ministry of Justice’s memo, dismantling the DOJ’s crypto unit and narrows the extent of its crypto-related enforcement priorities, will have no influence on the prosecution of terra-form labs co-defense and former CEO Do Kwon, said prosecutors on Thursday.
The memo sent Monday night by US Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche stated the staff that DOJ would no longer pursue prosecution against crypto exchanges, mixing services or offline wallets for their end user’s actions. Blanche asked the staff not to criminally charge violations of federal securities or raw material laws, except in specific circumstances, in cases where the charges “require [DOJ] That litigation on whether a digital asset is a ‘security’ or a ‘item’ ‘and there is an appropriate alternative criminal tax.
During a hearing on Thursday, US district judge Paul Engelmayer from the southern district of New York (SDNY) prosecuted whether Blanches Memo would have any influence on the charges against Kwon, which includes two counts about Commodities fraud and two counts about securities, as well as five other charges, including wiring and wiring.
The prosecution told Engelmayer that they have “no plans” to change their charges against Kwon at this time.
David Patton, Kwon’s main lawyer and a partner at Hecker Fink LLP, Engelmayer told the contents of Blanche’s Memo-in the least indirectly lead to some movements before the defense attempt.
“I think it could potentially be the subject of some movements for prior trial,” Patton said. “It may not be directly related to the note.” Patton specified that the questions of whether or not cryptocurrencies involved in the case were securities could be relevant.
In a separate civil case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Kwon and TerraForm Labs last year, when Kwon and his company were found to be responsible for fraud, another SDNY judge found that the symbols involved in the case were actually securities.
During Thursday’s hearing, Engelmayer told both the prosecution and the defense to inform him well in advance of the trial if they planned to request that he comply with any of the decisions or conclusions handed down by the Court of the SEC case.
The next batch of prior litigation is expected to hit Docket in July, and a third status conference is scheduled for June 12 at. 11 in New York.
Due to planning challenges, the starting date of Kwon’s criminal case has been pushed back three weeks from January 26, 2026 to 17 February 2026.
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