Do Kwon Set to Be Released on Bail in Montenegro Travel Document Forgery Case

Bail conditions prohibit Kwon from leaving his apartment in the country as the trial continues.

AccessTimeIconMay 12, 2023 at 12:14 p.m. UTC
Updated May 12, 2023 at 3:29 p.m. UTC
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Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon is set to be released from Montenegro jail on supervised bail as his trial on document forgery charges continues, a court notice from Friday shows.

The Basic Court of Podgorica said in its statement that it has accepted a proposal made by Kwon's lawyers on Thursday to pay 400,000 euros ($435,000) to release him from custody. Under the conditions of bail, the defendants in the case – Kwon and Terra executive Han Chang-joon – will be under surveillance and be prohibited from leaving their apartment.

The two were arrested by Montenegrin authorities in March for attempting to travel with falsified documents. Both the U.S. and South Korea have requested his extradition from Montenegrin authorities to face criminal charges over the collapse of Kwon's crypto enterprise Terraform Labs in May last year.

During the hearing, the defendants indicated they had "property worth several million" and the bail amount will be paid by their wives, the court's statement said. Prosecution objected to the bail proposal, saying there was no guarantee that Kwon was not a flight risk.

Meanwhile, the two defendants "promised that if bail is set, they will not hide until the end of the criminal proceedings, that they will regularly respond to court summons and that they will be available at the address provided by their defense attorney."

Kwon's next trial date is set for June 16. Parties unsatisfied with the bail decision have three days to appeal.

Edited by Parikshit Mishra.

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Sandali Handagama

Sandali Handagama is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for policy and regulations, EMEA. She does not own any crypto.


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