Do Kwon is Handed a Four-Month Jail Sentence
- Do Kwon and Han Chang-Joon are also the focus of a jurisdictional dispute between South Korean and American prosecutors.
- Kwon denied donating money to help Milojko Spaji’s campaign.
A statement on the Montenegro Basic Court website has confirmed that Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon received a four-month prison term for traveling with fake passports. The court noted that the time spent in detention would be included in the sentence.
Local news sources in South Korea revealed that Kwon, in a statement to the Montenegrin Basic Court last Friday, claimed that he was unaware of the alleged fake Costa Rican passport he was carrying. The 31-year-old told the court that “if I had suspected it was a fake passport, I would not have traveled to many countries.”
Kwon claimed he received his supposed fake passports and other papers from third-party agencies. The former Terra boss added that he had little reason to suspect the legitimacy of his passport since he had used it for several years.
“I filled out all the documents and received a Costa Rican passport through an agency in Singapore recommended by a friend,” Kwon said.
Kwon allegedly said he couldn’t remember the specifics when asked by the prosecution about the agency he used to get his passports. He claimed that the name of the agency was in Chinese but was unable to offer any other details.
Interestingly, Kwon asked the court to consider the innocence of his aide, Han. He was quoted as having told the court, “If you are punished for a fake passport, let me be the only one.” However, prosecutors urged the court to penalize both parties, adding that they had fraudulent intentions using fake passports.
Do Kwon and Han Chang-Joon were arrested in the Balkan country in March for allegedly possessing forged documents. Although a local court granted both parties bail, both former Terra executives have remained in detention since their arrest.
Do Kwon Denies Campaign Donations
In addition to denying claims that his travel documents were forged, Kwon denied reports that he contributed funds to Milojko Spaji, the current leader of the Europe Now party and a former finance minister of Montenegro. Kwon denied having any financial ties to Spaji or having helped finance his political campaign, as widely reported.
The collapse of Kwon’s Terra was partly responsible for the decline of the crypto market. Kwon became a major suspect in the case, but his whereabouts were unknown to regulators. Rumors spread that the 31-year-old was on the run. However, Kwon maintained an active presence on social media and denied being on the run.
South Korean officials later launched an international hunt for him and even asked Interpol for a red notice. Since his arrest in Montenegro, authorities in South Korea and the United States have asked for his extradition to face charges in connection with the downfall of Terra in May 2022.
The High Court in Podgorica confirmed that Kwon will remain in “extradition custody” for six months while South Korea’s case is being considered.
Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.
