SEOUL - A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for Do Kwon, the primary developer of cryptocurrencies Luna and TerraUSD, whose spectacular collapse in May roiled crypto markets around the world.

Kwon, also the founder of blockchain platform Terraform Labs, has been accused of fraud by investors in the wake of the collapse.

"An arrest warrant has been issued for a total of six people, including Do Kwon, who are currently residing in Singapore," a spokesperson for prosecutors said on Wednesday without elaborating.

Kwon did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

The arrest order comes after months of investigation, including search and seizure operations at related offices and local cryptocurrency exchanges.

TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin that was once among the top 10 cryptocurrencies globally by market value, broke its 1:1 peg to the U.S. dollar in May, plunging in value and sending paired token Luna plummetting with it.

According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, investors in the two coins lost an estimated $42 billion.

The market turmoil that ensued led to the failure of several major crypto companies including U.S. crypto lender Celsius and Singapore-based crypto fund manager Three Arrows Capital.

In an August video interview with crypto media platform Coinage, Kwon said he had moved to Singapore because of concerns about his family's safety and rejected suggestions that the relocation was due to the crash or an attempt to evade investigators.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee and Alun John; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)