Do Kwon Could Stay in Custody for Six Months Amid Extradition Request
• Do Kwon, the founder of failed blockchain project Terra, could stay in custody for up to six months while Montenegro’s courts consider an extradition request from South Korea.
• Kwon was charged with eight counts of fraud in New York, including securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy.
• Korean prosecutors are targeting the cryptocurrency assets of Do Kwon which were transferred from a crypto wallet.
Extradition Request From South Korea
Do Kwon, the founder of failed blockchain project Terra, could stay in custody for up to six months while Montenegro’s courts consider an extradition request from South Korea. On Thursday, a Montenegrin court extended Kwon’s stay in custody for an additional six months as he awaits trial for possible extradition. Marija Rakovic, a speaker for the Higher Court informed that “The judge of the Higher Court ordered the six months detention, as there is an extradition case opened in front of this court at the request of South Korea”. This decision follows a recent announcement by the high court approving bail in a document forgery case.
Charges Filed Against Kwon
Kwon had been evading authorities for several months before his arrest and had fled South Korea and Singapore prior to Terra’s collapse in May last year. He was later charged with eight counts of fraud in New York including securities fraud, wire fraud and commodities fraud. US prosecutors alleged that he made false statements about user adoption on Terra during a TV interview. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also sued him along with Terraform Labs CEO for allegedly orchestrating multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency fraud by selling “crypto asset securities” such as synthetic assets or “mAssets” and algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD (UST) along with its sister cryptocurrency LUNA.
South Korean Prosecutors Targeting Crypto Assets
Last week news broke that Korean prosecutors are targeting Do Kwan’s crypto assets which were transferred from a crypto wallet belonging to Luna Foundation Guard (LFG), set up by him to defend his stablecoin TerraUSD’s peg to dollar according to Dan Sunghan who is director at Seoul Southern District Prosecution Service . These digital tokens are worth $29 million which were allegedly funneled out by Kwons without proper authorization or accounting records making it difficult to trace back these funds when needed.
Terra Luna Founder Facing Extradition/Bail Request Denial
Kwons bail request was granted after previously being rejected by same court but he still faces extradition requests from both US & South Korea due to charges filed against him & SEC lawsuit accusing him & other executives at Terraform Labs of multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency scam leading investors into losses . If extradited ,he may face long prison sentence& heavy fines if found guilty .
Conclusion
Do Kwan remains under arrest awaiting trial related to extradition requests from both countries while facing charges like securities & wirefraud ,commodities & conspiracy related offenses as well as SEC lawsuit accusing him & other executives at Terraform labs responsible behind multi-billion dollar crypto scam resulting loss of investments made by investors .