Do Kwon Arrested, Montenegrin Officials Say

The former founder was arrested at the airport for “falsified documents”

article-image

Artwork by Axel Rangel modified by Blockworks

share

Do Kwon, founder of the now collapsed Terraform Labs, has been arrested in Montenegro, local officials say.

Montenegrin police have detained the disgraced entrepreneur at the Podgorica airport, the country’s minister of interior, Filip Adzic, tweeted. 

“The former ‘cryptocurrency king,’ who is behind losses of more than $ 40 billion, was detained at the Podgorica airport with falsified documents,” Adzic wrote.

The tweet has since been retweeted by the country’s prime minister, Dritan Abazovic. Local news site Vijesti has also confirmed the reports. 

Following his arrest, the price of LUNA immediately dipped by 8.2%. It is now trading at $1.33, according to information on CoinGecko.

Montenegrin officials directed Blockworks to Mr. Adzic’s Twitter account for further information.

The depeg of the TerraUSD stablecoin resulted in a more than $40 billion loss by crypto investors and institutions.

Unlike stablecoins such as USDC, USDT and DAI, TerraUSD was not backed by reserves and maintained its peg to the dollar through an algorithm, which ultimately failed.

Do Kwon was charged by the SEC for ​​“orchestrating” cryptocurrency securities fraud earlier this year. 

He is also sought after by government officials in South Korea, who have issued a warrant for his arrest. Kwon is under investigation by Singaporean officials as well.

Updated March 23, 2023 at 11:26 am ET: Added additional context throughout.
Updated March 23, 2023 at 1:32 pm ET: Added response from Montenegro government official.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

🚀 Build What’s Next — Permissionless IV Hackathon Join us June 22–23 in Brooklyn for the Permissionless IV Hackathon — a 36-hour sprint hosted by Cracked Labs and Blockworks where top builders turn ideas into real products. Come to launch, not just […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (10).png

Research

Kamino has evolved into a full-stack asset scaling suite with V2: unlocking new markets, improving capital efficiency, and catering to various risk profiles. We believe it is best positioned to become the credit backbone of Solana as the ecosystem matures. Simply put, KMNO remains our highest-conviction bet in the Solana ecosystem. This report lays out our thesis.

article-image

With an updated Summary of Economic Projections, the Fed sees growth slowing and inflation increasing

article-image

Where do crypto mobile games go from here?

article-image

Bybit’s Byreal, Binance Alpha and Coinbase’s DEX integrations

article-image

This isn’t the worst hack to ever hit Mt. Gox, but it could be the most entertaining

article-image

Crossover’s CEO discusses institutional interest and how over-the-counter (OTC) trading has picked up in crypto

article-image

Sponsored

This collaboration signifies a major leap forward in expanding the reach and utility of Web3 gaming within the vibrant Asian market