Do Kwon Faces 5 Years in Montenegro if Found Guilty of Forgery
- Do Kwon is being prosecuted for the use of forged Costa Rican passports to enter Montenegro, and if found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison.
- Prosecutor Haris Šabotić said he would complete the investigation before April 23, and if enough evidence could not be found, Kwon would be relieved of charges.
- Both the US and South Korean authorities have asked for the extradition of the crypto entrepreneur, but it is up to a Montenegrin judge to decide where he ends up.
- Montenegrin prisons are small and overcrowded and lack proper medical care, claims a lawyer, while implying that Do Kwon is in for a hard time.
Following his arrest in Montenegro, Do Kwon, the founder of the Terra stablecoin and DeFi ecosystem, is awaiting his extradition to the United States, where he faces fraud charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Interestingly, the crypto developer entered Montenegro using falsified documents, and as per Montenegrin prosecutor Haris Šabotić, a decision regarding the same will be made by April 23, which is the deadline for the case.
According to a report, Šabotić is focused on prosecuting Do Kwon for entering the country using fake identification and now the six-month manhunt that led to his arrest. We are only concerned with charging him for using the forged documents. How they got them or from where is a matter for the police,” he told DL News while refusing to comment on the Terra founder’s fraud charges in the US.
“Those passports were suspicious, and that was the alarm for the police,” Duško Milanović, Head of State Prosecution Office, said. “After that, we got a notification that the person arrested was wanted by Interpol.”
Earlier, Serbian prosecutor Branko Stamenkovic said that Do Kwon and his accomplice Han Chang-joon were in Serbia, but their trail had run cold. What triggered their arrest wasn’t the Interpol Red Notice, but the falsified documents that the two used to enter the country. Despite being investigated for the $60 billion collapse of the Terra ecosystem, the crypto entrepreneur’s first time in front of a judge will be for falsifying a Costa Rican passport.
Šabotić along with fellow prosecutor Duško Milanović will charge the two with falsifying identification, and as per a judge’s ruling, Do Kwon can be detained in the country until April 23 as the two prosecutors gather evidence.
If found guilty, the Terra founder is facing up to five years in prison, while if enough evidence hasn’t been found, the criminal charges will be dropped and the High Court in Podgorica will be notified so that they can take up the case under the Interpol warrant.
“If we don’t obtain enough evidence, criminal charges for this will be dismissed, and we will inform the Higher Court in Podgorica so they can take the case because of the Interpol arrest warrant,” Šabotić said.
Montenegro’s Minister of Justice Marko Kovač also confirmed earlier this week that the police found Belgian identity documents within the luggage of Kwon and Han Chang-Joon. It was revealed that all the evidence found will be shared with the US authorities, along with the South Korean authorities. Both countries have requested the extradition of the defamed crypto entrepreneur, but it is up to a Montenegrin judge to decide where he ends up.
It is also important to mention here that following their arrest, Do Kwon and Han Chang-Joon were taken to the police station in Podgorica, the capital of the country, where they gave “a brief statement in English to the prosecution and denied being guilty.”
As reported earlier by Bitnation, the prisons in Montenegro are considered to be overcrowded and lacking in basic medical care. A lawyer stated that rooms in the Montenegrin prisons are “8 meters squared and very crowded,” and around 10 to 11 people are living together in a room. Sometimes, there’s not even a bed in the prison cells.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
