By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 19th, 2024
Do Kwon will spending a minimum of six months in Montenegro custody, while the South Korean authorities will work on his extradition.
Do Kwon, the disgraced co-founder of Terraform Labs, has been reportedly taken into extradition custody in Montenegro, the regional edition of Radio Free Europe (RFE). In the recent investigation, Kwon also faces questions regarding ties to a local political person in Montenegro.
Previously, a higher court in Podgorica had confirmed that they would release Kwon and Han on bail for €400,000 bail. But after the latest decision, Kwon will spend a minimum of six months in Montenegro custody.
Kwon’s legal situation is quite confusing as both South Korean and US prosecutors have charged him with defrauding investors in relation to the $40 billion collapse of the Terra blockchain ecosystem in May 2022.
Earlier this year in March, authorities arrested Kwon over the possession of falsified documents along with his colleague Han Chang-Joon. South Korean officials were already searching for Kwon over the past few months. Following his arrest, both South Korea and the US have been seeking his extradition.
While Kwon spends the next six months in Montenegro, the court in South Korea will further work on the extradition request. The authorities have already called this case “the largest financial fraud or financial securities fraud case that has ever happened in South Korea”.
“I heard news today from the media and I will not comment someone else’s actions. This news is unvaluable because nothing is changed, they stay in jail,” Goran Rodić, new lawyer representing Do Kwon told DL News.
Do Kwon’s Hearing in Montenegro
The Montenegrin Basic Court has set a hearing date for June 16 to discuss charges against Kwon and former Terraform Labs chief financial officer Han Chong-joon. They are accused of creating fake travel documents.
Kwon is also expected to be questioned by the Special State Prosecutor’s Office regarding his relationship with politician Milojko Spajić. In a letter sent to several officials shortly before the recent elections in Montenegro, Kwon mentioned his contact with Spajić, who leads the Europe Now party.
Spajić denied any connection to Kwon, but news outlets in the country extensively covered their alleged association and possible financial contributions from Kwon.
Kwon was running away from Interpol for around six months before finding shelter in Serbia. In October, Kwon and Han established a company in Belgrade and bought a luxurious apartment in an exclusive area of the Serbian capital for €2 million.