Prosecutors announced that they would seek extradition proceedings through the Ministry of Justice for Terraform Labs CEO Kwon Do-hyeong (32), who was arrested in Montenegro.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating the Terra Luna coin case, decided to quickly take related procedures with the Ministry of Justice to secure the identity of Mr. Kwon, who is suspected of violating the Capital Markets Act.
Kwon is accused of providing false information, such as continuously issuing cryptocurrencies in Korea without informing investors even after knowing that there is a high possibility that Terra and Luna will collapse together. He is also facing a total of eight charges, including securities fraud, financial fraud, and market manipulation in the United States.
On January 5 of this year, the prosecution requested an emergency extradition arrest from Serbia, where Kwon was staying. Emergency extradition arrest is a system that arrests and detains criminals who need to be arrested urgently on the premise that a request for extradition will follow.
Prosecutors are not sure whether the request for extradition arrest will be effective in Montenegro, so they will figure out the necessary procedures and proceed with it.
Mr. Kwon left for Singapore in April of last year, right before the Terra and Luna coin crash.
In September of last year, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office requested and issued arrest warrants for six officials residing in Singapore, including Kwon, Terraform Labs co-founder Nicholas Platias, and employee Han Mo. Prosecutors who received an arrest warrant asked Interpol for a red notice for Kwon, but Kwon fled to Serbia at the end of last year via Dubai, UAE.
In response, the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office dispatched the head of the Securities Crimes Unit and the International Criminal Division of the Ministry of Justice to Serbia, and tracked down Mr. Kwon jointly with the Serbian investigative authorities.
Kwon later moved to Montenegro, which borders Serbia with Mr. Han, and was arrested by local police at Podgorica Airport in Montenegro on the 23rd (local time). At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of a fake Costa Rican passport.
After Kwon’s arrest, the National Police Agency received a notification from the local police in Serbia that they had arrested a person with the same name and date of birth as Kwon and Han, who were wanted by Interpol, and fingerprint information. The police collated the information and finally confirmed Kwon’s identity.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.