Today
(Friday), a Montenegro court approved the extradition of cryptocurrency
entrepreneur Do Kwon, leaving a minister to decide whether to hand him over to
South Korea or the United States, both seeking his extradition.
Kwon,
Co-Founder of Terraform Labs, facing multibillion-dollar fraud charges in the
U.S., and Han Chong-Joon, former CFO, have been sentenced to four months in
jail by a Montenegro court for possessing forged passports and travel
documents. The Singapore-based blockchain company executives were arrested while
attempting to travel to Dubai.
Confiscated
were fake
Costa Rican and Belgian passports along with falsified identity cards. The
court had initially set bail at €400,000 for each, but it was voided on appeal
as property assessment was inadequate. Kwon stated he obtained the documents
from a Singapore agency recommended by a friend, denying knowledge of their
forgery.
In
May, at a hearing, the defendants denied charges from the Montenegrin
prosecutor. Kwon’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to U.S. charges, but a
Terraform Labs spokesperson, the company he founded, vowed to fight the
“misguided and deeply flawed” U.S. allegations in July.
The
Montenegro High Court announced today that Kwon had agreed to extradition to
South Korea under an abbreviated procedure, pending the justice minister’s
final decision, as multiple states have sought his handover. The decision will
be made after Kwon completes his prison term for document forgery.
Kwon’s
lawyer in Podgorica was not available for immediate comment. After his arrest,
the U.S. District Court in Manhattan unveiled an eight-count indictment against
him for securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy. In
May, a Montenegrin court revoked an 800,000-euro bail for the pair, deeming it
an unreliable guarantee.
Montenegro court
approves extradition of ‘cryptocurrency king’ Do Kwon
https://t.co/mkSaaAiExP
pic.twitter.com/NhDaM2qWIq—
Reuters (@Reuters) November
24, 2023
Kwon
Arrested at Podgorica Airport
Finance Magnates reported on Kwon’s
arrest, with Filip Adzic, Montenegro’s Interior Minister, disclosing that Kwon
had been apprehended at Podgorica Airport.
In
a translated tweet, Adzic announced: “Montenegrin police have detained a
person suspected of being one of the most wanted fugitives, South Korean
citizen Do Kwon, the Co-Founder and CEO of Singapore-based Terraform
Labs.”
Yonhap
News Agency reported that an official from the national police agency confirmed
Kwon’s identity through photo data. Additionally, local police verified the
arrested person’s age, nationality, and name using the identification card
found in his possession.
Today
(Friday), a Montenegro court approved the extradition of cryptocurrency
entrepreneur Do Kwon, leaving a minister to decide whether to hand him over to
South Korea or the United States, both seeking his extradition.
Kwon,
Co-Founder of Terraform Labs, facing multibillion-dollar fraud charges in the
U.S., and Han Chong-Joon, former CFO, have been sentenced to four months in
jail by a Montenegro court for possessing forged passports and travel
documents. The Singapore-based blockchain company executives were arrested while
attempting to travel to Dubai.
Confiscated
were fake
Costa Rican and Belgian passports along with falsified identity cards. The
court had initially set bail at €400,000 for each, but it was voided on appeal
as property assessment was inadequate. Kwon stated he obtained the documents
from a Singapore agency recommended by a friend, denying knowledge of their
forgery.
In
May, at a hearing, the defendants denied charges from the Montenegrin
prosecutor. Kwon’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to U.S. charges, but a
Terraform Labs spokesperson, the company he founded, vowed to fight the
“misguided and deeply flawed” U.S. allegations in July.
The
Montenegro High Court announced today that Kwon had agreed to extradition to
South Korea under an abbreviated procedure, pending the justice minister’s
final decision, as multiple states have sought his handover. The decision will
be made after Kwon completes his prison term for document forgery.
Kwon’s
lawyer in Podgorica was not available for immediate comment. After his arrest,
the U.S. District Court in Manhattan unveiled an eight-count indictment against
him for securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy. In
May, a Montenegrin court revoked an 800,000-euro bail for the pair, deeming it
an unreliable guarantee.
Montenegro court
approves extradition of ‘cryptocurrency king’ Do Kwon
https://t.co/mkSaaAiExP
pic.twitter.com/NhDaM2qWIq—
Reuters (@Reuters) November
24, 2023
Kwon
Arrested at Podgorica Airport
Finance Magnates reported on Kwon’s
arrest, with Filip Adzic, Montenegro’s Interior Minister, disclosing that Kwon
had been apprehended at Podgorica Airport.
In
a translated tweet, Adzic announced: “Montenegrin police have detained a
person suspected of being one of the most wanted fugitives, South Korean
citizen Do Kwon, the Co-Founder and CEO of Singapore-based Terraform
Labs.”
Yonhap
News Agency reported that an official from the national police agency confirmed
Kwon’s identity through photo data. Additionally, local police verified the
arrested person’s age, nationality, and name using the identification card
found in his possession.
