Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon’s Bail Revoked in Montenegro Court: Bloomberg

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June 26, 2023

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A court in Montenegro has repealed a lower court’s decision under which to release Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon on bail, according to Bloomberg News. 

A court spokesperson said a high court in Montenegro’s capital overturned the earlier decision and Kwon remains in jail, Bloomberg reported. 

This also applies to Terraform Labs’ former Chief Financial Officer Han Chong-joon, according to Bloomberg.

The case was sent to the High Court in Podgorica, the country’s capital, earlier this week, after prosecutors appealed against the bail terms to release Kwon and Han for $436,000 each. 

Kwon had been on the run for months after the demise of Terra, which was behind the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD that fell into a tailspin last year. 

Kwon and Chong-joon were accused of forgery by Montenegro prosecutors last month for allegedly using false passports from Belgium and Costa Rica. 

Both have pleaded not guilty. 

Wanted around the world 

Search warrants for Kwon’s arrest were issued in South Korea in September and he was subsequently arrested in March. 

In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Kwon and his company of defrauding investors. 

The agency said Kwon and Terraform promoted their crypto by repeatedly claiming that the tokens would increase in value. 

The complaint also went into detail about other happenings at the firm, including that TerraUSD had fallen from its peg before in May 2021.

TerraUSD is an algorithmic stablecoin that uses market incentives through algorithms to maintain a stable price.

TerraUSD been the largest algorithmic stablecoin before losing its $1 peg, causing billions to be wiped out. 

The fallout garnered attention from US lawmakers and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen who reportedly calling for regulation of stablecoins. 

“I think that simply illustrates that this is a rapidly growing product and that there are risks to financial stability,” Yellen said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing last year.