Creator of Terra cryptocurrency accused of falsifying documents

The South Korean founder of the Terra cryptocurrency, Do Kwon, was accused of forgery of documents by a court in Montenegro on Friday, continuing to be held pending possible extradition.

Do Kwon, whose full name is Kwon Do-hyung, was wanted on suspicion of having orchestrated a cryptocurrency fraud, having been detained at the airport in Podgorica, capital of Montenegro, on Thursday, along with his chief financial officer, Hon. Chang Joon.

Do Kwon, 31, is the founder of Terraform Labs, the company that controls the Terra cryptocurrency, which collapsed in May 2022, having been accused of fraud in the crash that generated losses of 40 billion dollars (37 billion euros) for investors.

Referring to the detention of “a person suspected of being one of the most wanted fugitives in the world”, Montenegrin Interior Minister Filip Adzic said on Thursday that the two men were detained under a South Korean arrest warrant. .

According to the Montenegrin authorities, the two were carrying “forged Costa Rican documents”, detected during a check before a flight that would take them to Dubai, and also the inspection of the luggage revealed forged Belgian documents.

Montenegro police announced this Friday that the two were accused of forging documents.

The founder of Terra denied being in possession of false documents, his lawyer Branko Andjelic explained to AFP.

The two men are in custody for a maximum of 30 days due to the risk of flight, according to a press release from the Podgorica court.