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Do Kwon: Fugitive crypto mogul believed caught in Montenegro Do Kwon: Fugitive 'cryptocrash' boss arrested in Montenegro
(about 7 hours later)
Police in Montenegro say they have arrested a man who they believe is the fugitive crypto mogul Do Kwon. South Korea police say that Do Kwon, the fugitive cryptocurrency boss behind the $40bn (£32.5bn) collapse of the terraUSD and Luna tokens, has been arrested in Montenegro.
He is wanted in connection with the collapse of his company Terraform, which is estimated to have cost investors more than $40bn (£32.5bn). He has since been charged with fraud by prosecutors in the US.
South Korea is seeking him, and he has also been charged by US officials for "orchestrating multibillion-dollar crypto asset securities fraud". Earlier this year US regulators accused Mr Kwon and his company Terraform Labs of "orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud".
Mr Kwon has previously denied he is in hiding but never revealed his location. The firm did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
News of the arrest was made by Montenegro's interior minister, Filip Adzic, who tweeted that "one of the world's most wanted fugitives" had been detained at Podgorica's airport. South Korea authorities issued an arrest warrant for Mr Kwon last September as they believed Terraform Labs had violated capital market rules.
Mr Adzig added that the suspect was accused of travelling under a false name with fake documents. Authorities are still waiting for official confirmation of the man's identity, he said. They had thought he was in Serbia, and even sent officials to Belgrade to negotiate, since the two nations do not have an extradition treaty.
Mr Kwon's Singapore-based company Terraform, along with its cryptocurrencies, collapsed spectacularly in May 2022. Mr Kwon has previously denied he was in hiding but never revealed his location.
The value of its Terra Luna and TerraUSD tokens fell, plummeting to near zero and triggering a sell-off in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether. News of his arrest was first shared by Montenegro's interior minister Filip Adzic, who said on Twitter that "one of the world's most wanted fugitives" had been detained at Podgorica's airport.
Mr Adzic added that the suspect was allegedly travelling under a false name with fake documents. Authorities were waiting for official confirmation of the man's identity, he said.
On Friday, South Korea police confirmed that the suspect in Montenegro was Mr Kwon, after his fingerprints matched official records.
Officials are reportedly working on repatriating Mr Kwon to South Korea.
Mr Kwon has separately been charged with fraud by US prosecutors.
He faces charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud and conspiracy, according to an indictment made public at the US District Court in Manhattan on Thursday. Lawyers for Mr Kwon did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment.
In February, US financial regulators alleged that Mr Kwon and Singapore-based Terraform Labs "failed to provide the public with full, fair, and truthful disclosure as required for a host of crypto asset securities, most notably for Luna and TerraUSD."
The US Securities and Exchange Commission said they had repeatedly claimed the tokens would increase in value, and misled investors about the stability of TerraUSD.
However, the value of the token and its linked Luna cryptocurrency plunged to close to zero last May.
It triggered a sell-off in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether. As a result the term cryptocrash trended online.
"I am heartbroken about the pain my invention has brought on all of you," Mr Kwon said at the time."I am heartbroken about the pain my invention has brought on all of you," Mr Kwon said at the time.
But last month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused him of failing to "provide the public with full, fair, and truthful disclosure" of the crypto assets. Globally, investors in TerraUSD and Luna lost an estimated $42bn, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
The SEC also said he misled investors about the stability of TerraUSD and repeatedly claimed the tokens would increase in value.
In September, Interpol issued an international red notice for his arrest. The following month, South Korean prosecutors said he had travelled via Dubai to an unknown country after leaving Singapore.
South Korean authorities had thought he was in Serbia, and even sent officials to Belgrade to negotiate, since the two nations do not have an extradition treaty.
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South KoreaSouth Korea
MontenegroMontenegro
FraudFraud
CryptocurrencyCryptocurrency