Montenegro court releases crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon on bail
A court in Montenegro has agreed to release Do Kwon, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur who is facing charges of multibillion-dollar fraud in the U.S. on bail of 400,000 euros. Do Kwon, who is a South Korean national, is the former CEO of Terraform Labs, the company behind TerraUSD stablecoin, which collapsed in May 2022, causing upheaval in cryptocurrency markets.
The U.S. District Court in Manhattan had made public an eight-count indictment against Do Kwon, charging him with securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy, following his arrest in Montenegro in March. Along with Do Kwon, Han Chang-joon, Terraform Labs’ former finance officer, was also detained. The pair were charged with forging official documents, and a court in Podgorica ordered them to be placed in a 30-day pre-trial detention.
The two defendants will remain under house arrest and be supervised by police, according to a statement by the Basic court in Montenegro’s capital Podgorica. The statement added that the court found the possibility of losing the posted bail of 400,000 euros each works sufficiently to dissuade them from any desire to flee.
At a hearing on Thursday, both defendants denied any wrongdoing over the charges pressed by the Montenegrin prosecutor. They told the court they have property worth millions, and their wives would post the bail.
Do Kwon and Chang-joon were arrested by Montenegrin police at Podgorica airport as they tried to board a flight to Dubai. The police later found doctored Costa Rican passports, a separate set of Belgian passports, laptop computers, and other devices in their luggage. South Korean and U.S. authorities have sought their extradition and the handover of the computers.
