Do Kwon Claims to Have Backed Political Party in Montenegro: Report

Outgoing Montenegro Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic has reportedly urged the Special State Prosecution to initiate an investigation into allegations of business connections between Do Kwon, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency project Terra, and Milojko Spajic, the leader of the Europe Now political movement.

According to a Balkan Insight report, the allegations of business relations between Do Kwon and Spajic stem from a letter the Terra co-founder sent to Abazovic, the outgoing Justice Minister Marko Kovac and the Special State Prosecution, claiming that he had provided financial backing for Europe Now.

Kwon and Terraform Labs’ former chief financial officer Chang-joon Han were arrested at Montenegro's Podgorica airport in March while attempting to travel to Dubai with allegedly forged documents.

Both Do Kwon and Han Chang-Joon are set to be released on bail after the Montenegro High Court earlier this week granted them police-enforced house arrest, and are set to appear in court on June 16. If found guilty the pair could face a prison sentence of up to five years.

Aside from the ongoing legal proceedings in Montenegro, Do Kwon also faces legal issues in South Korea and the U.S.

Abazovic confirmed that he received Do Kwon’s letter, saying that Montenegro “cannot become a breeding ground for global fraudsters, even if they use blockchain or anything else.”

“It’s not good for Montenegro if Spajic had contacts with Do Kwon, because the man is wanted by the U.S. and South Korean authorities,” Abazovic said during a press conference on Wednesday.

While the 35-year-old Spajic denied these claims, he revealed that he and the company he worked for invested in Terra.

"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 in early 2018,” Spajic told local publication Vijesti.

The politician added that he took “special satisfaction” from reporting Do Kwon to local authorities when the Terra co-founder entered Montenegro earlier this year.

Spajic and crypto

Spajic appears to have a long-standing interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies.

In April 2022, when Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin received Montenegrin citizenship, Spajic shared a photo of himself and Buterin holding his new passport.

“Today, I had the pleasure to give Vitalik Buterin a Montenegrin citizenship as a sign of gratitude for everything he has done and will do for our country,” Spajic posted on his official Instagram.

Spajic also hosted an Ethereum panel discussion at the Future Now! Conference that same month with Buterin, Ethereum researcher Vlad Zamfir, and University of Memphis professor of law Boris Mamlyk speaking on topics including the legality of blockchain identity and smart contracts in government.

Last year, the politician stated that “in three years, the blockchain [industry] can account for about 30 percent of the Montenegrin economy, i.e., contribute an additional 1.5 billion to two billion euros to the gross domestic product (GDP).”

Spajic appeared together with Buterin again in May this year during the EDCON conference in Montenegro.