Do Kwon Denies Knowledge of Allegedly Fraudulent Passport

Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, reportedly told a court in Montenegro that he was unaware that the passport he was traveling with was allegedly fraudulent and instead blamed a Chinese-named agency.

Kwon reportedly informed the Montenegrin Basic Court on June 17 that he obtained his allegedly forged passports and travel documents, including a Costa Rican passport, from “agencies.”

“I received my Costa Rica passport after filling in the documents required by a Singaporean agency that was recommended to me by a friend. I received my Belgian passport through another agency.”

According to Kwon, he had no reason to dispute the authenticity of his Costa Rican passport because he had traveled with it “for years.”

The prosecution probed Kwon for additional information about the agency he used to obtain his passports. Still, Kwon replied that he “couldn’t remember exactly” and knew only that the agency’s name was “in Chinese.”

Kwon was questioned alongside his former colleague and chief financial officer of Terraform Labs, Han Chong-joon.

In addition to disputing the forgery of travel documents, Kwon denied allegations that he made financial contributions to Montenegro’s former finance minister and current Europe Now party leader, Milojko Spaji.

According to a report from a regional branch of Radio Free Europe dated June 17, Kwon allegedly contacted Spaji in a letter he sent to several Montenegrin officials in the days preceding the country’s most recent round of elections.

“This is categorically denied and false,” Kwon’s attorneys stated.

Spaji denied having ties to Kwon, but numerous Montenegrin news outlets extensively covered rumors of their financial relationship.

Judge Ivana Beci declared following the hearing that she would render a verdict on the forgery charges on June 19 (local time).

Kwon will be detained in extradition custody for up to six months while the local court reviews the extradition request from South Korea.

Local authorities apprehended Kwon and Chong-Joon on March 23 after being accused of forging passports used to attempt to depart Montenegro on a private flight to Dubai.

The court initially approved the proposed bond amount of 400,000 euros ($436,000), but that decision was reversed on appeal on May 24.

On June 5, this appeal was denied, and Kwon and Chong-joon were released on bond. The local police will closely monitor the couple, and their bail will be forfeited if they leave their residence or violate the approved conditions.

In May 2022, the Terra ecosystem of Terraform Labs collapsed, resulting in losses of up to $40 billion.