Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon loses appeal in Montenegro passport fraud case Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon loses appeal in Montenegro passport fraud case
Kwon and an associate, Han Chang-joon, were both previously convicted and sentenced to four months in prison.
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Updated: Nov. 16, 2023 at 9:04 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Do Kwon, the founder and former CEO of Terraform Labs, lost an appeal after being convicted of passport fraud, a Montenegro court ordered on Nov. 16.
In June, Kwon and fellow Terra associate Han Chang-joon were convicted of falsifying passport documents by the Basic Court in Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital city. Both defendants were sentenced to four months in prison at that time.
The defendants appealed the charges soon after. However, in its current statement, the High Court in Podgorica reaffirmed the basic court’s earlier conviction and sentence. It said that the court “correctly and completely determined the factual situation.” It also said that the basic court rightly applied Montenegro’s criminal code and took all circumstances into account in its choice of sanctions and in determining their extent.
The court added that the behavior of the two individuals and the fact that the court did not determine whether the two used the falsified travel documents were both taken into account. It said the confiscation of Kwon and Chang-joon’s identity cards was necessary to arrest the two individuals and that doing so prevented future criminal acts.
Do Kwon faces criminal charges elsewhere
Kwon is separately wanted in South Korea and the U.S. on criminal charges related to the failed stablecoin project Terra. Another set of charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges Kwon and Terra with securities violations.
Kwon’s overseas passport fraud sentence seemingly prevented the U.S. from extraditing him to testify in the securities case, according to court statements from Terraform Labs on Sept. 27. It is unclear how the current sentence affects his two criminal cases.
Despite widespread actions against Kwon himself, his projects remain somewhat active. The TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin and specific associated cryptocurrencies lost most or all of their value in May 2022. Terraform Labs remains operational under other leadership and has not closed or filed for bankruptcy since November 2023.
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Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
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Terra is a blockchain protocol that uses fiat-pegged stablecoins to power price-stable global payments systems.
Terraform Labs
Terraform Labs is a startup that created Terra, a blockchain protocol and payment platform used for algorithmic stablecoins.
Do Kwon began his professional journey as an engineer, contributing to tech giants Apple and Microsoft.