Do Kwon Faces Justice: New Details On Dramatic Takedown, Extradition Showdown

Montenegro has charged South Korean fugitive and cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon with forgery, and he is expected to face extradition proceedings in court.

Kwon is accused of fraud following his company's abrupt collapse in 2022, which erased about $40 billion of investor funds and rattled global cryptocurrency markets.

Kwon was detained in Podgorica, Montenegro's capital, at the airport alongside an associate after being discovered traveling with counterfeit documents.

Montenegro's police announced on Friday that both individuals were charged with document forgery.

Kwon's TerraUSD was promoted as a "stablecoin," usually linked to stable assets such as the U.S. dollar to avoid significant price fluctuations.

However, TerraUSD was an "algorithmic stablecoin," unbacked by assets and solely pegged to its fluctuating counterpart, Luna LUNA/USD.

Also read: Bulletproof Your Crypto Investments: Uncover Hidden Gems With This Benzinga Guide

The two currencies plummeted in May 2022.

An official told AFP that Kwon would appear in the Higher Court in Podgorica on Friday for the extradition request hearing.

While the official did not specify the country requesting the extradition, Montenegro's interior ministry confirmed on Thursday that Kwon had been arrested under a South Korean warrant.

Seoul has pledged to pursue formal extradition, and the United States has also charged Kwon with eight counts, including securities fraud and wire fraud, following a lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kwon allegedly traveled from South Korea to Singapore before the company's collapse in May last year.

South Korean prosecutors requested Interpol to include Kwon on the red notice list across the agency's 195 member nations in September and revoked his passport.

Montenegrin authorities reported on Thursday that Kwon and his companion "used falsified Costa Rican travel documents" at passport control on a flight to Dubai.

Their luggage also contained travel documents from Belgium and South Korea.

Montenegro's interior ministry added that the Belgian documents were forged.

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Photo: Unsplash