Do Kwon's extradition to the US and South Korea could take years

On March 23rd, South Korean crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon (31) was apprehended at Podgorica airport while trying to board a flight to Dubai. Kwon was accompanied by his colleague Han Chang-Jun, the former CEO of mobile payment system Chai Corporation.

News of the arrest of one of the world's most wanted fugitives was tweeted by Montenegro's Minister of Interior Affairs, Filip Adzic. Adzic stated that Do Kwon had used counterfeit documents under a fictitious name. 

Just a reminder that Terraform Labs, which was founded by Kwon, was responsible for issuing the Luna and UST tokens. Last year, the value of these tokens crashed and burned, nearly dropping to zero. As a result of Terra's collapse, over 200,000 investors in South Korea alone were left with losses totaling around $42 billion. In September of last year, Interpol issued an arrest warrant for Kwon and five other Terra employees. South Korea requested that these cryptocurrency scammers be put on the international wanted list. Despite a court order preventing them from leaving the country, they managed to escape to Singapore. The American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also currently conducting its own investigation into Terra. 

Authorities in South Korea, Singapore, and the United States are currently searching for Do Kwon, who is facing multiple charges, including securities fraud and deceiving investors. The Terra CEO claimed in October 2022 that he was not evading the authorities but did not reveal his whereabouts. He also stated that he had not yet seen the arrest warrant and was relying solely on media reports.

However, in November 2022, the South Korean prosecutor's office suspected that Kwon had fled to Serbia. They sought assistance from Serbian law enforcement, and the Belgrade police were able to track him down. Branko Stamenković, the head of Serbia's special prosecution office for high-tech crimes, confirmed this in an exclusive interview with DL News. The authorities are now taking steps to extradite Kwon and bring him to justice for his alleged crimes. 

The Serbian border is relatively open, as travelers can cross into Montenegro, Bosnia, and North Macedonia without presenting travel documents.

“It is most likely because of actions undertaken by Serbian Prosecution and police that the suspects fled from the country trying to get refuge in the region,” Stamenković commented on Do Kwon's arrest in neighboring Montenegro. 

“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,” said Montenegrin prosecutor Haris Šabotić. At the hearing held the day after Kwon's arrest, the judge ruled that the fraudsters would be sent to jail for 30 days until the prosecution could gather enough evidence.

Šabotić also revealed that the reason for Do Kwon's detention wasn't the Interpol red notice at all. It turned out that the cryptocurrency businessman's documents, which he presented to the border guards at Podgorica airport, were the reason behind his arrest. On March 23rd, at around 3 pm, the police called the prosecutor and reported that they had arrested two South Korean citizens on suspicion of using fake Costa Rican passports. In addition, Belgian passports were found in the fraudsters' trunk. It was only later that the Serbs discovered that the suspects were wanted by Interpol.

At the police station in Podgorica, Kwon and Han made a brief statement in English, denying their guilt. 

Once official charges are filed, the two fraudsters will be brought before a first-instance court in Podgorica. If the South Koreans are found guilty of document forgery, they could face a maximum of five years in prison. Interpol will only act on the arrest warrants if the fraudsters are cleared of all charges, as stated by Šabotić. 

Montenegrin Justice Minister Marko Kovač has confirmed that both the United States and South Korea have requested the extradition of Do Kwon. However, the Montenegrin prosecutor suggests that the American and South Korean law enforcement agencies may have to wait for some time before the crypto fraudsters are handed over. It is also worth noting that Montenegro does not have any extradition agreements with either South Korea or the United States. In other words, Do Kwon's strategy appears to have been successful – had he not been caught up in the document forgery, he could have enjoyed a comfortable life in Europe for several years. 

Meanwhile, new intriguing details are emerging regarding the scandal involving the former CEO of Terra. It has come to light that just a few weeks after receiving a red notice from Interpol, Kwon and Han registered a company under the name Codokoj22 doo Beograd. 

According to the local Business Registry, Codokoj22 doo Beograd is situated in the heart of Belgrade, Serbia, and offers consulting services with a capital of less than one euro. What's intriguing is that the fraudsters used their South Korean passports during the company registration process. Officials at the Business Registry of Serbia have stated that they had no information about the Interpol red notice.

In the same vein, the Serbian law firm Gecic Law, hired by Do Kwon to represent his interests, was also unaware of the Interpol red notice. The lawyers filed an application on behalf of Kwon and Han, signing the necessary documents for the company registration. Gecic Law claims that the South Koreans passed all security checks, including Interpol's website verification, without any issues.

DL News reporters have released a photo of a private jet spotted at Podgorica airport right after Do Kwon's arrest.

The Bombardier Challenger 605 belongs to Maltese company Alliance Jet, headed by Belgian national Hervé Laitat (yep, Belgium strikes again!). According to the Malta Business Aviation Association, airlines perform a client identification check on the person who requested the flight and made the payment (which could be different people) after booking a flight. The passenger list is then transmitted to the authorities of the destination country. 

There is no evidence that this Bombardier jet was the one that the South Koreans were supposed to take to Dubai. However, the fact that Kwon was able to organize a seven-hour flight on a private jet to a new global crypto hub on the Persian Gulf is undeniable. 

However, questions remain unanswered as to how a notorious criminal, who was on Interpol's wanted list, was able to evade authorities for months, set up a business under his own name, and even nearly flee to another continent.