Federal prosecutors in New York indicted the South Korean national Do Kwon, 31, on fraud charges Kwon faces eight counts, including conspiracy to defraud and engage in market manipulation, conspiracy to defraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and securities fraud. South Korea issued an arrest warrant for the former crypto CEO in September. The country’s officials also asked Interpol to circulate a “red notice” Kwon. Law enforcement in Singapore also said they were investigating Kwon.
On Thursday, the Standford graduate Do Kwon was arrested in Podgorica, Montenegro, as he and a travel companion tried to board a private flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. They were apprehended after using forged Costa Rican passports. Kwon became a target of criminal investigators in at least three countries after the $40 billion Terra-Luna scheme, operated via the Singapore-based Terraform Labs, collapsed virtually overnight. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges against Kwon last month.
Nick Biase, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, said U.S. prosecutors were seeking Kwon’s extradition. However, Kim Hee-kyung, a spokeswoman for the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office told AFP that the government would like to see Kwon extradited back to South Korea. Prosecutors in Montenegro on Friday charged Do Kwon with forgery.
“We will see what is the first request, and after that we are ready to make the extradition to the country which is looking for him,” said Dritan Abazovic, Montenegrino’s prime minister.
We would bet our 10 cents that Do Kwong will be extradited to the U.S. It is hard to imagine Montenegro resisting the Americans’ wishes.
