Hideo Nakamura The judge in Montenegro has agreed to let Do Kwon from Terraform be released from jail, but now he will have to stay at an assigned place and the police will keep an eye on him. On Thursday, a trial began about the charges of Do and another Korean for traveling with wrong papers; both denied that they were guilty.
Court Grants Bail to Terraform Labs Boss and Co-Owner on Fake Identity Charge
A court in Podgorica (the capital of a small country called Montenegro) allowed the boss and co-owner of Terraform Labs (a failed blockchain business), Do Kwon, and another person from South Korea to be free on bail. They were accused of trying to use fake identities while they were in Montenegro.
On March 23, a man named Kwon Do-Hyung was arrested by the Montenegrin police. He was caught at the airport while trying to take a flight from Costa Rica to Dubai. He had someone with him, and that person’s last name was Han. People have suggested that this companion is actually Kwon’s Chief Financial Officer, whose full name is Han Chang-joon.
The court said it’s okay for two people suspected of a crime to stay out of jail, but they have to pay 400,000 euros ($435,000). They also can’t leave their apartment and the police will watch them until their trial is over.
The court said that the defendants have to promise not to hide away until the criminal case is solved and they need to answer all court summon as well as stay in an address chosen by their lawyer. If they break these rules, then their bail will be cancelled.
Do Kwon on the Run
South Korean people have said they are not guilty of the crimes that Montenegrin police say they did. The governments of South Korea and America want a person called Do Kwon to be brought back to face charges. This is because he was involved in crashing the values of two different kinds of digital money named ‘luna’ and ‘terrausd’. It’s believed that around 200,000 people lost lots of money when their value suddenly disappeared.
Kwon went missing after he took off to Singapore in April 2022, right before two digital currencies failed. Police around the world asked Interpol to find him since they believed he did something bad with money. He then ran to Serbia and set up a company there. Eventually, he ended up in Montenegro where he can get locked up for up to five years if they catch him.
In late March, Do Kwon’s lawyer said that before he can be sent somewhere else, the crypto entrepreneur must first go to trial for using false documents in Montenegro. The justice minister of Montenegro also mentioned that he might have to stay in jail there before getting extradited to another place.
On Friday, South Korean news said that Kwon didn’t want to say how much money he has. When the court asked him about bail money, he said his wife will pay for it and that they own a 3 million dollar apartment in South Korea. People think Kwon might have hidden large sums of money from an illegal cryptocurrency case.
Do Kwon might try to avoid punishment and not get sent back where he came from. What do you think? Tell us in the comments section below.
