Believing that Terraform Labs co-founder and CEO Do Kwon is hiding in Serbia, South Korean authorities sought cooperation with the Serbian government to bring Kwon back to South Korea and face charges.
The manhunt for Kwon continues to rage on, and now authorities believe that he’s in Serbia after leaving Singapore in September. With this, they are negotiating with the Serbian government on a deal for extradition, according to Bein Crypto.
Since the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, the controversial crypto figure who co-founded the company has been on the run. This is amid the many investigations and lawsuits that he is currently facing.
South Korean Authorities Confirm that Do Kwon is Hiding in Serbia
According to Cointelegraph, a report from Chosun Media stated that South Korean authorities followed a tip-off concerning the whereabouts of Kwon. They were able to confirm that he is now in Serbia.
Since the collapse of Terra, South Korean authorities have been on the hunt for Kwon. However, they don’t seem to have had much luck identifying his location until now.
Towards the end of April, the 31-year-old Terra co-founder was understood to have moved to Singapore. This was just before the Terra ecosystem collapsed.
On September 14, an arrest warrant was issued by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office’s Financial and Securities Criminal Unit against Kwon. This is for allegedly violating the capital market law of South Korea.
Around that time, authorities in Singapore identified that Kwon had already left the country. Based on reports, he had flown to Dubai in transit to get to a new unknown destination.
On September 26, it was reported that a “Red Notice” was issued by Interpol against Kwon. But as of December 11, Kwon’s name is still not added to Interpol’s Red Notice database on the website.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered Kwon to surrender his passport on October 6. Failure to comply with the order would result in the cancellation of his passport.
South Korea Seeks Cooperation with the Serbian Government
According to Cointelegraph, South Korea’s Ministry of Finance is currently in the process of requesting cooperation from the Serbian government as part of the investigation of Kwon’s case.
If it happens that Kwon is indeed in Serbia, it remains to be seen if the South Korean government can extradite the Terraform Labs founder from the said country.
Serbia is not one of the 31 countries South Korea entered into a bilateral extradition treaty with.
However, it can be noted that the country has also entered into a much broader multilateral extradition treaty with the Council of Europe. In this treaty, Serbia is also a signatory.
Over the last few months, Kwon claimed that he is not “on the run.” Likewise, according to him, he is “making zero effort to hide.” With this, he remains active on social media.
But while authorities go after Kwon, the Terra Classic Community keeps on working to revive the ecosystem. According to Bein Crypto, the community started voting on a proposal to separate Terraform Labs from Kwon.
On the other hand, a South Korean court rejected arrest warrants for co-founder Daniel Shin and seven others. According to the judge, there wasn’t enough proof that they attempted to destroy evidence or escape.