A court in Montenegro on Friday approved a second bail request for Terraform Labs co-founder Kwon Do-hyeong and former chief financial officer Han Chang-joon, who face allegations of using fake passports. Kwon is also wanted on fraud charges in South Korea and the U.S. An earlier 800,000 Euros (US$856,000) bail approval was overruled by the High Court in May, which requested more details on the finances of the two men and sent the bail request back to the lower court.
See related article: Terraform CEO Do Kwon’s bail revoked in Montenegro
Fast facts
- The Basic Court in the capital Podgorica ruled the two South Korean nationals be released from jail to house arrest after lawyers for the two men provided more details on their financial situation, according to the court’s official statement on Friday.
- “The unsatisfied party has the right to appeal against the said decision within 3 days,” the statement said in reference to local prosecutors, who appealed against the first bail approval.
- The next court trial for Kwon and Han is expected to take place on June 16. The two were arrested at Podgorica airport on March 23 for allegedly attempting to fly out of the country using fake passports. Kwon and Han have denied charges of forging travel documents
- Kwon, who led the Terra-Luna cryptocurrency project until its US$40 billion collapse a year ago, was under an Interpol Red Notice that requested law enforcement agencies detain him, following fraud charges by South Korean authorities.
- Kwon is also wanted in the U.S. Prosecutors in both countries accuse him of fraud, securities law violations and other charges related to the collapse of the Terra stablecoin and Luna cryptocurrency.
- Kwon has denied all the allegations against him. He has admitted mistakes were made in the Terra-Luna project managed by Terraform Labs, but argues there was never any intent to deceive investors.
See related article: Prosecutor says Terra-Luna fugitive Do Kwon should face trial in South Korea: WSJ
