Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, the crypto entrepreneur who’s sought by the US and South Korea on fraud charges, was sentenced to four months in prison by a Montenegrin court for attempting to travel with a forged passport.
(Bloomberg) — Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, the crypto entrepreneur who’s sought by the US and South Korea on fraud charges, was sentenced to four months in prison by a Montenegrin court for attempting to travel with a forged passport.
Han Chang-joon, who was Terraform Labs’s chief financial officer, was convicted of the same crime and also received a four-month sentence, the Basic Court in Podgorica said in an email on Monday. Time already spent in detention is included in the prison terms, and the two can appeal the verdict, the court said.
“Once we receive the verdict in writing, we will consult with our clients about possible appeal,” defense lawyer Goran Rodic said by phone from Podgorica. The court has up to 30 days to officially notify the defense as well as the prosecutor’s office, which can also appeal the verdict, Rodic said.
Kwon and Han were arrested in Montenegro in March when they tried to board a private jet en route to Dubai. The authorities acted on an international arrest warrant that was issued after the collapse of two digital tokens Kwon helped create, a crash that wiped out at least $40 billion of market value. Prosecutors in South Korea and the US have charged him with fraud.
Read more: Crypto Mogul Kwon Hit With US Fraud Charges Following Arrest
Montenegrin police said the two were found in possession of multiple passports, including forged Belgium and Costa Rican documents. Both the US and South Korea are seeking Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro, where officials have said they may consider handing him over after local criminal proceedings are completed.
Kwon and Han pleaded not guilty at their first court hearing in Montenegro in May. Last week, Kwon told the court he obtained the documents in Singapore through an agency selling citizenships of various countries and believed the passports were genuine.
(Updates with comment from defense lawyer in third paragraph.)
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