Interpol issued a Red Notice for Do Kwon in September, and three weeks later he registered a company in Serbia. According to official records obtained from the Serbian Business Registry, Kwon opened a company called “Codokoj22 d.o.o. Beograd” on October 12 at an address in the city center of the Serbian capital. Although it is not possible to search the registry by name, officials have confirmed that two South Koreans named Do Kwon and Han Chang-Joon are listed with a company number.
Fraud charges in relation to Terra luna
Do Hyuang Kwon and Han Chang-Joon, both directors of the new company, were arrested last Thursday at Podgorica Airport in Montenegro on a private jet bound for Dubai. Interpol had previously issued a Red Notice for Kwon on Sept 20. This came following allegations that the pair are wanted by South Korean prosecutors for fraud charges in relation to the collapse of Terra, the blockchain “ecosystem” Kwon co-founded last May.
In addition, Kwon is facing eight counts of fraud-related charges in the US, and authorities in Singapore where Terra is based are also investigating. This led to a significant decrease in market value as LUNA and UST tokens respectively plummeted, resulting in a $60 billion loss.
A Montenegrin judge ruled that Do Kwon and Han will be detained for 30 days while they are investigated for attempting to leave the country with allegedly forged Costa Rican passports. As Han Chang-Joon requested to give his statement in his native Korean, proceedings had to be postponed until a translator could be found – the nearest South Korean embassy is located 200 miles away in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital.
The Serbian company
Do Kwon and Han Chang Joon registered a Serbian company with the main activity of ‘consultancy services’ for general coverage of their business. With an initial capital of just 100 Serbian dinars (less than 1 Euro), they utilized their Korean passports to complete the process. The company is still active. The Serbian Business Registry stated that they had no knowledge of Do Kwon’s Interpol Red Notice.
The lawyers who assisted Do Kwon
The official document from the registry indicates that Do Kwon contracted Gecic Law, a Serbian law firm based in Belgrade, to represent him. Ognjen Colic, a partner at Gecic Law Firm, submitted the request for registration on behalf of Kwon and Han. When contacted regarding the case, Colic stated that he was unaware of his client’s arrest and alleged document forgery in neighboring Montenegro, declining to comment further due to confidentiality agreements. He stated: “This client [Do Kwon] went through all the regular security checks that we conduct for every client, including the Interpol website and he is not on there—you can check it yourself now.”
Milos Petakovic, a lawyer from the same company, signed the official document from the Serbian Business Registry on behalf of Do Kwon. When contacted and asked if he knew his client had been wanted by Interpol when registering the company, he said: “I cannot comment without consulting my colleagues.”
It is essential to know that the news of Do Kwon hiding in Serbia first broke in December 2022, with South Korean officials reporting that he had arrived via Dubai a couple of months prior. Serbian authorities have remained silent about the ongoing case, but a joint investigation between the two countries was confirmed at the end of January when South Korean prosecutors traveled to Serbia.
