Montenegro prosecutors indict Terraform Labs' Do Kwon for forgery

Do Kwon [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Prosecutors in Montenegro reportedly submitted an indictment proposal for Do Kwon, the Terraform Labs co-founder behind a $40 billion implosion, for passport forgery.

The law enforcement procedure in the Balkan country will likely delay Kwon's repatriation to Korea.

According to a Montenegrin news report from Pobjeda on Thursday, the prosecutors have sent Kwon and his chief financial officer, Han Chang-joon, to trial on charges of forging public documents, including a Costa Rican passport.

The authorities also asked a court to extend the pair's detention.

Kwon and Han were detained last month at Podgorica International Airport in Montenegro as they attempted to board a plane bound for Dubai. The local police later confirmed that their Costa Rican passports were forged and subsequently arrested them.

The Montenegrin court has set a detention period of up to 30 days for the two.

Haris Shabotich, a prosecutor working on Do Kwon's case in Montenegro, said in a recent interview with Yonhap that Kwon's extradition is “unlikely to occur during his detention period,” which lasts 30 days. Shabotich also noted that “prosecution must be completed before moving on to the next stage,” and that “the prosecution is not interested in extradition issues at this time.”

Although some foreign media previously reported that Kwon was prosecuted immediately after his arrest, the Montenegrin prosecution corrected this and confirmed that Kwon has not yet been prosecuted.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]