Crypto criminal decides Montenegro elections

On Sunday 11 June, elections were held in Montenegro, the small state on the Adriatic Sea that would like to be part of Europe. The poll was won by the Europe Now party of Miloko Spajic, the former finance minister, but he won far less votes than predicted. Turnout, at 56% of voters, was also one of the lowest ever. Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon, who is in prison in Montenegro, is to blame it seems.

Costa Rican passport

There are two major criminal investigations going on within the world of crypto. Although the SEC charges against Ripple Labs (XRP), Binance and Coinbase are serious, they have not led to any criminal charges so far and no one has been arrested.

The crypto industry has upended a critical general election in Montenegro, a troubled Balkan nation struggling to shake off the grip of organized crime and the influence of Russia. https://t.co/gL8PJ3DTKk

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) June 24, 2023

Two other crypto founders are in bigger trouble. Sam Bankman Fried, founder of the defunct platform FTX, and Do Kwon, founder of Terraform labs, are both in prison in the US and Montenegro respectively, waiting for their trial to begin.

Today’s story is about Do Kwon. The spectacular collapse of cryptocurrency Luna in May 2022 (and a second cryptocurrency, namely stablecoin TerraUSD), transformed him from a hero of innovation into a fugitive wanted by both the United States and South Korea on charges of fraud.

🚨BREAKING: Do Kwon Sentenced to 4 Months Jail in Montenegro Document Forgery Case! Can’t wait for $LUNA to pump in the exactly 4 months! #FreeDoKwon 🚀🤑 https://t.co/3lTsZqJ3IK

— WSB Trader Rocko 🚀🚀🚀 (@traderrocko) June 21, 2023

He disappeared for a long time until authorities in Montenegro announced in March this year that he had been arrested while trying to board a private jet to Dubai in the capital Podgorica using a forged Costa Rican passport.

$29 million

Although he was stripped of any access to electronic equipment, the imprisoned Mr. Kwon has been able to transfer $29 million from a crypto wallet linked to him to his lawyer’s account in Montenegro, South Korean prosecutors said.

A few days before the election, a handwritten letter appeared in the press from Do Kwon himself, explaining that he had invested money with “his crypto friends in Montenegro.”

Now you should know that Mr. Spajic, who won the elections in the meantime, did indeed meet Do Kwon in 2018 when he had plans to turn Montenegro into a crypto paradise. Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, also received the Montenegrin nationality as a gift at the time.

Voters in Montenegro were not very appreciative that there were indeed links between Europa Now and Do Kwon and decided to give the party, which was destined to win the elections big, far fewer votes than the opinion polls indicated. This is especially good news for Do Kwon himself, who will probably be able to stay in a prison in Montenegro a little longer than desired due to the lengthy government negotiations. After all, a ministerial decision will normally be needed for his transfer.

Staying in Montenegro seems better than South Korea or the US at the moment, where there are many questions about the $40 billion hole he left behind when Terra collapsed.