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

BlockBeats News, September 6th, according to The Straits Times report, Do Kwon, the co-founder of the now-defunct blockchain company Terraform Labs, had his request to recover approximately 50% of the purchase price of a Orchard Road penthouse rejected by the Singapore High Court.

Five months before the collapse of his cryptocurrency TerraUSD and Luna in 2022, Do Kwon had set his sights on the $38.8 million Sculptura Ardmore apartment. High Court documents reviewed by The Straits Times show that he had chosen a 7,600 square feet (approximately 706 square meters) duplex four-bedroom penthouse on the 19th floor of the apartment, 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.

Reportedly, 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 the confiscation was invalid and filed a lawsuit with the Singapore High Court 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, but this deposit has special legal and financial characteristics. Simply put, 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, paid to the developer as a non-refundable fee.