A request by Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraforms Labs and the collapsed Terra-Luna ecosystem, to be released on a bail of $430,000 has received reapproval from the Basic Court of Podgorica.
The new development comes less than two weeks after a high court in Podgorica granted prosecutors’ appeal against the lower court’s decision to release Kwon as trial proceedings for his document forgery allegations are ongoing.
According to an official statement by the Basic Court of Podgorica, the new decision considered all reasons for terminating the initial ruling. Kwon and Han Chong-Joon, his associate, will be released on $430,000 bail each and detained in an apartment to be monitored by the police.
The Basic Court passed the initial verdict in mid-May after Kwon’s defense lawyers offered to have the co-founder and his associate released from custody and detained at a provided address to periodically visit the court during trial hearings.
Prosecutors opposed the proposal because Kwon and Joon had no tangible reason to remain in Montenegro until the next hearing date, which had been scheduled for June 16. They eventually appealed the decision at the High Court, where it was annulled. Kwon and Joon were deemed to remain in jail until the court proceedings were over.
“When making this decision, the court took into account the evidence on the financial situation of the defendants provided by their defense counsel, the seriousness of the criminal offense for which the defendants are reasonably suspected, their personal and family circumstances, as well as the financial situation of the persons providing bail, and the opinion of the prosecution representative,” the Basic Court said.
While Kwon and his associate are placed under house arrest, the court intends to verify the authenticity of the travel documents and identity cards found in their possession when they were caught at the Podgorica airport.
Kwon has pleaded not guilty to charges that the documents were falsified. The international fugitive was on the run months before his arrest and was caught trying to flee to Dubai on a private jet. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, together with Joon, if found guilty.
Montenegrin authorities have stated that Kwon must conclude criminal proceedings in the country before being extradited to either the U.S. or South Korea to face the law for the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.