​Leader of the leading party in Montenegro accused of having ties with Do Kwon

What’s new? Montenegro’s Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, as well as a number of political parties and non-governmental organizations, called on the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate allegations that Do Kwon, founder of Terraform Labs (TFL), had business and financial relations with the leader of the political movement Europe Now, Milojko Spajic. In particular, Kwon may have been involved in financing this party. Meanwhile, according to public opinion polls, it is Europe Now that may lead the new government after the June 11 parliamentary elections, while Spajic has a chance of becoming prime minister, according to Balkan Insight.

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What else is known? Sources in the government and Prosecutor’s Office informally told the media that a handwritten letter from Kwon claims he has known Spajic since 2018 and they met in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

The current head of government, Dritan Abazovic, confirmed that he received the letter and said that “It’s not good for Montenegro if Spajic had contacts with Do Kwon, because the man is wanted by the US and South Korean authorities.”

“We cannot become a breeding ground for global fraudsters, even if they use blockchain or anything else,” Abazovic added.

Milan Knezevic, one of the leaders of the pro-Serbian For the Future of Montenegro political coalition, also called on the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the case, alleging that Kwon funded Europe Now’s campaign in local elections last year and the presidential election in April:

“The prosecution should inform the public about this letter. Serious doubts are being cast on the electoral process and we want to get to the end of the elections without such scandals.”

The leader of the Europe Now party denies allegations of ties to the TFL founder. On June 5, Milojko Spajic said that he reported Kwon to the Interior Ministry immediately after he arrived in Montenegro.

“Do Kwon is a fraudster who defrauded millions of people, including my friends and the company I worked for when we invested in this project <the Terra blockchain ecosystem — ed.> in early 2018. Which is why we had the special satisfaction of reporting him to authorities,” Spajic said.

On June 6, Prime Minister Abazovic denied Spajic’s statements, objecting that he did not inform the Interior Ministry about Kwon’s presence in Montenegro.

Arrest of TFL founder. On March 23, Do Kwon and his assistant, Han Chang-joon, were detained at Podgorica Airport with fake passports while trying to fly to Dubai. Kwon had been on the run since last year when the Terra collapse in May caused tens of billions of dollars in losses for investors around the world.

In addition to the trial in Montenegro, where Kwon and Chang-joon are accused of document forgery, warrants for Kwon’s arrest have been issued by Interpol and South Korea, of which he is a citizen.

Meanwhile, in early June, the Montenegrin court agreed to release the defendants on bail of €400 000 ($427 500) each. The judge considered that the sum is a sufficient guarantee that the defendants will stay in the country. The question of Kwon’s extradition to South Korea or the United States will be decided after the verdict in the Montenegro document forgery case.