Regulation
Bail revoked for Do Kwon after prosecutors in Montenegro appeal: Report
Kwon and former chief financial officer Han Chong-joon reportedly lived in Serbia before they were allegedly caught trying to leave neighboring Montenegro using false documents.
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon and former chief financial officer Han Chong-joon will not be released on bail in Montenegro after prosecutors appealed the decision, Bloomberg reported on May 24. The pair were arrested in March after allegedly trying to leave the country using falsified documents.
The fugitive crypto executives were granted release to house arrest on 400,000 euros ($435,000) bail each by the Basic Court in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica on May 12. The bail terms were proposed by their defense team. Prosecutors appealed the ruling to the High Court the following week.
Now the Basic Court will reconsider Kwon and Chong-joon’s bail. There is no limit on the number of times the Basic Court’s decisions can be appealed, the report noted.
Related: Albright Capital drops lawsuit against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon
In the meantime, both South Korean and United States authorities have sought Kwon’s extradition, and he also faces charges in Singapore. U.S. prosecutors have filed eight charges against Kwon, including commodities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud and engage in market manipulation. In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had filed a lawsuit against him before his apprehension, and a class-action suit has been filed in California.
Kwon reportedly faces up to 40 years’ imprisonment in the case against him in South Korea and five years in prison on the charges in Montenegro, where his trial is scheduled for June 16. Montenegro has an extradition treaty with the United States but not South Korea or Singapore.
A court in Montenegro revoked bail for Do Kwon, the former crypto mogul and Terraform Labs co-founder https://t.co/uiLwQnBxY6
— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) May 24, 2023
Kwon disappeared after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022 but maintained a social media presence and denied that he was in hiding, even after an Interpol Red Notice was issued for him. It was eventually uncovered that Kwon and Chong-joon were living in Serbia. Kwon had reportedly opened up a consulting company in the country after the Red Notice was issued.
