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Do Kwon Arrested in Montenegro: Interior Minister

The suspect was detained at the Podgorica airport with falsified documents, said Filip Adzic.

Updated May 9, 2023, 4:11 a.m. Published Mar 23, 2023, 1:34 p.m.

The founder of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, appears to have been arrested in Montenegro, according to a tweet by the country's minister of interior, Filip Adzic.

"Montenegrin police have detained a person suspected of being one of the most wanted fugitives, South Korean citizen Do Kwon, co-founder and CEO of Singapore-based Terraform Labs," Adzic tweeted.

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Kwon has been the target of several investigations and was even on Interpol's red notice after stablecoin terraUSD (UST) and its $40 billion ecosystem imploded last year, sending shockwaves across the crypto markets.

The suspect was detained at the Podgorica airport with falsified documents, Adzic added, saying he was still waiting for official confirmation of identity.

The Korean National Police Agency said that it had confirmed the suspect appeared to be Kwon based on checking age, name, and nationality of his ID card, according to a report by the Yonhap news agency.

The unverified account of Adzic is followed by the official account of the prime minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovic. The tweet announcing Kwon's arrest was also retweeted by Abazovic's account. Adzic's account has previously been cited in official tweets.

U PODGORICI UHAPŠEN JEDAN OD NAJTRAŽENIJIH SVJETSKIH BJEGUNACA

Crnogrska policija lišila je slobode lice za koje se sumnja da je jedan od najtraženijih bjegunaca, južnokorejski državljanin Do Kwon, suosnivač i izvršni direktor Terraform Labs sa sjedištem u Singapuru.
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— Filip Adzic (@filip_adzic) March 23, 2023

CoinDesk has reached out to the Montenegro government for comment.

UPDATE (March 23, 13:38 UTC): Adds details throughout.

UPDATE (March 23, 13:54 UTC): Adds details, links.

UPDATE (March 23, 14:37 UTC): Adds details from Yonhap

terraform labs Arrest Do Kwon

Parikshit Mishra

Parikshit Mishra is CoinDesk's Regional Head of Asia, managing the editorial team in the region. Before joining CoinDesk, he was the EMEA Editor at Acuris (Mergermarket), where he dealt with copies related to private equity and the startup ecosystem. He has also worked as an Senior Analyst for CRISIL, covering the European markets and global economies. His most notable tenure was with Reuters, where he worked as a correspondent and an editor for various teams. He does not have any crypto holdings.

Jack Schickler

Jack Schickler was a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He previously wrote about financial regulation for news site MLex, before which he was a speechwriter and policy analyst at the European Commission and the U.K. Treasury. He doesn’t own any crypto.