Montenegro police on Friday officially charged Do Kwon, the crypto entrepreneur behind two digital currencies that lost an estimated $40 billion (nearly Rs 3,29,500) or more last year, for forged official documents after his arrest at Podgorica airport.
Do Kwon, a South Korean citizen, and a second suspect were arrested Thursday while trying to board a flight to Dubai at Podgorica airport.
Police said in a statement that they found fake Costa Rican passports and a separate set of Belgian passports in their luggage during the encounter.
The two suspects have also been charged before the Podgorica court with forging official documents.
“Pending the completion of (court) proceedings, they will be taken to an investigative judge… to take further actions under an international (arrest) order,” it said.
It also said that international arrest warrants had been issued against the two “to secure their presence … before the Southern District Court in Seoul on suspicion of committing a number of crimes in the economic field.”
Hours after Kwon was detained in Podgorica, the United States District Court in Manhattan released an eight-count indictment against him.
Kwon’s attorney in the United States did not immediately respond to after-hours requests for comment.
Thursday’s indictment charges Kwon, the co-founder Terrain Lab and develop the TerraUSD And Moonlight currency, with two counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, merchandise fraud and conspiracy.
Both currencies crashed last May, with the price of TerraUSD falling below a cent.
The criminal case follows relevant civil charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission against Kwon and Terraform last month.
Kwon has been on the run for several months. South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for him last September.
South Korean police on Friday said the identity of the suspect arrested in Montenegro was confirmed as Kwon after his fingerprints matched information held by the country’s National Police Agency (KNPA). hold.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
