Most wanted cryptocurrency scammer (31) arrested in Montenegro

class=”sc-3778e872-0 gWjAEa”>

He was probably one of the most wanted white collar criminals on the planet – now he’s been arrested. We’re talking about cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon (31) from South Korea.

It has been under investigation since it crashed the crypto market in May 2022. The collapse of his newly founded Terraform Labs destroyed nearly 40 billion investor capital last year and rattled the global crypto markets.

According to official information, the fugitive businessman has now been arrested in Montenegro after months of searching. Montenegrin police arrested Kwon at the airport in Podgorica “with false documents”, Interior Minister Filip Adzic said on Twitter on Thursday.

Wanted in 195 states

With the arrest of 31-year-old Do Kwon, one of the most wanted crypto crooks is in police custody. Do Kwon was the CEO and co-founder of a Singapore-based startup called Terraform Labs, which published the TerraUSD cryptocurrency and its sister currency Luna. Both exploded in May 2022, Terraform Labs went bankrupt and Do Kwon escaped.

South Korea called Interpol in September, putting Kwon on the global wanted list in 195 Interpol member states. He and five others are wanted in connection with the bankruptcy of Terraform Labs. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accuses South Korea of ​​”billion dollar fraud”.

Terraform Labs presented TerraUSD as a so-called “stablecoin”. Stablecoins are actually pegged to stable assets like dollars to avoid drastic price fluctuations. However, TerraUSD is tied to its sister currency Luna, which can be freely traded through a different mechanism common to some stablecoins.

Brought over $100 million to a safe place in Switzerland

In May last year, both currencies fell below a dollar, destroying investors’ savings. The South Korean government then launched an investigation into the accident, meanwhile placing fugitive Do Kwon on the international wanted list.

Recently, Switzerland has also been associated with the crypto entrepreneur. Among other things, he is said to have brought his millions to safety through an unnamed Swiss bank. There was talk of over $100 million.

Cryptocurrencies have increasingly come under the scrutiny of regulators around the world after a series of controversies and scandals. Finally, the bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX and its sister company Alameda Research made headlines late last year. With the collapse of the two companies, a virtual trade deal with an estimated market value of $32 billion also disappeared.

The demise of FTX, as well as the demise of two major US crypto lenders Silvergate and Signature amid a string of banking failures, has cast major doubts on the long-term viability of cryptocurrencies and other platforms built on the success of Bitcoin and other digitals. currencies were suppressed. (AFP/dzc)

Source :Blick