Do Kwon, the fraudster behind the failed Terra Stable project, arrested in March. Kwan, a Korean national who studied at Stanford University and has set up operations out of Singapore, was on the run using a fake Costa Rican passport in hopes of getting to Dubai. But when law enforcement finally catches up with him, they catch the crypto baron in the most unlikely of places: the tiny Balkan country of Montenegro.
The news baffled many crypto-watchers because Montenegro is not a stop on the blockchain-heavy circuit, and few will be able to pinpoint the coastal country — which is north of Albania — on a map. But those familiar with the country’s politics were no less surprised to discover that Do Kwon had chosen the Adriatic state as his hideout.
In recent years, influential figures in the country have long been known as Mecca For organized crime – they took a keen interest in cryptocurrency and tried to build its profile as a crypto-friendly place. This effort has already borne fruit.
Notably, Montenegro granted citizenship to Vitalik Buterin, the Russian co-founder of Ethereum, who subtracted To obtain a copy of her passport. The Minister of Finance in the then government, Milojko “Mickey” Spajic, was take credit to take pictures.
according to In news reports at the time, Spajic invited a group of global crypto experts to visit Montenegro in the belief that they could help develop the country’s economy by attracting investment and creating new high-paying jobs. But this month, new reports claim that Kohn—who has been in the Balkans for months—has helped fund the political party Spike co-founded, Europe Now.
The Montenegrin government has publicly announced that Kwon, who is currently under house arrest, has links with Spajic. He cited a letter from Kwon to the outgoing prime minister, Dritan Abazovic, in which he claimed the two were business partners, and that he had donated money to the campaign for local elections in Europe Now 2022 and to her presidential campaign earlier this year, in which the party’s candidate emerged victorious.
The allegations have sparked a political bombshell, as Montenegro holds parliamentary elections on Sunday. Spajic is running in those elections and was, until Tuesday, one of the candidates for the country’s new prime minister. His opponents demanded that the Special Prosecutor’s Office investigate whether the assertions in the letter were true. On June 7, the party “Europe Now” Pay for retreatclaiming that the allegations linking the party and Spajic to Kwon are merely political defamation.
The truth of the matter remains a mystery, but it is hard not to question Kwon’s activities in Montenegro. The small coastal country of just 600,000 people is known as the Beehive of drugs And cigarette smugglingIt has a history of corrupt politicians flexing their influence to help gangs avoid prosecution in exchange for bribes and other favors. One such example is the former mayor of Budva, Milo Bozović, who He was arrested recently On suspicion of drug trafficking and other crimes.
Spajic claims that cryptocurrency can help develop the economy of Montenegro, but is a more pessimistic guess for the country growing enthusiasm For cryptocurrency, the sector that benefits most from the new industry is organized crime.
All of this raises the stakes for Sunday’s election. After winning the presidential election in March, Europe Now was in pole position to emerge as the largest party in the country’s parliament. Had this continued, as party chairman Spajic would have been one of the main contenders for the post of prime minister, the most powerful role in the country’s political system.
This is certainly his goal, and if he succeeds, the 35-year-old with technical savvy could claim his title as the world’s first cryptocurrency offering. But whether this is good for Montenegro, the cryptocurrency market, or Do Kwon is unknown.
Djukanovic’s main rivals in Sunday’s election are Andrija Mandic of the Democratic Front, who wants closer ties with neighboring Serbia and Russia, and – allied with Spajic – Yakov Milatovic, a pro-Western economist and now vice-president for Europe.
according to ReutersHis opponents say that Djukanovic, for his part, is corrupt because of their links to organized crime, and that they run the country of just 620,000 people as their personal fiefdom — accusations that Djukanovic and his party deny.