A High-Stakes Arrest in Montenegro: Terra Blockchain Founder Suspected in Collapse

In a stunning development, Do Kwon, the founder of the Terra blockchain platform, has been apprehended by law enforcement officials in Montenegro. The arrest is the culmination of a months-long investigation into the collapse of TerraUSD, the stablecoin created by Terraform Labs that wiped out billions of dollars in investor funds in May of last year.

Sources have indicated that South Korean police have confirmed the arrest, though local authorities in Montenegro have yet to officially confirm the news. A tweet attributed to Montenegro’s Minister of Interior, Filip Adzic, has been circulating online, claiming that Kwon was detained at the airport in the capital city of Podgorica.

Awaiting Final Identification

According to Yonhap News, South Korean authorities are currently waiting for fingerprints from local authorities in Montenegro to confirm the identity of the person arrested. Until then, the investigation remains ongoing.

The collapse of TerraUSD was just the first in a series of crypto market crises that rocked the industry in 2022, including the bankruptcies of Celsius, a crypto lending platform, and FTX, a major cryptocurrency exchange. Kwon, a Korean national, was issued an arrest warrant by a South Korean court in September of last year, with prosecutors alleging that he had violated capital markets laws.

Search for Kwon

Korean prosecutors reportedly traveled to Serbia, which borders Montenegro, in February of this year in an attempt to track down Kwon. It is unclear whether this recent arrest was the result of that search. In addition to the South Korean investigation, Kwon is also facing civil charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accuses him of failing to provide full and accurate disclosure to investors.

In the high-stakes world of cryptocurrency, this arrest marks a significant development in the ongoing effort to hold those responsible for market crises accountable. As the investigation continues, the financial world waits to see what comes next.

Source: The Block