Do Kwon's Appeal for the Return of $19.4 Million SGD Mansion Deposit Rejected by Singapore Court

On September 6th, according to the report in The Straits Times, Do Kwon, the co-founder of the now-defunct blockchain company Terraform Labs, had his request to recover about 50% of the purchase price of a penthouse on Orchard Road rejected by the High Court of Singapore. Five months prior to the collapse of his cryptocurrency TerraUSD and Luna in 2022, Do Kwon had his eyes set on the $38.8 million Sculptura Ardmore apartment. High Court documents reviewed by The Straits Times show that he had selected a 7,600 square feet (approximately 706 square meters) duplex four-bedroom penthouse on the 19th floor of the apartment, which was one of only three penthouses in the development. Do Kwon had paid around $19.4 million (about 50% of the total purchase price) through an option fee and subsequent payments. However, the deal fell through, and the property was subsequently resold to another party for $34.5 million. It is reported that Sculptura Ardmore was launched by developer SC Global in 2012 and completed in 2014. In 2017, Meta co-founder Eduardo Saverin had purchased a penthouse in the same development for $60 million, setting a new record for luxury apartment prices. Despite the developer confiscating Kwon's payments, Kwon insisted that the confiscation was invalid and filed a lawsuit with the High Court of Singapore through his wife. The lawsuit was dismissed on July 26th. BlockBeats Note: In this article, "option fee" refers to a deposit paid by Do Kwon when purchasing the luxury home. This deposit has specific legal and financial characteristics. In simple terms, the option fee is the amount paid by Do Kwon to "lock in" the right to purchase the property and agree on a final price, and it is paid to the developer as a non-refundable fee.