撰文：Isabel Hunter & Ana Ćurić
Compiled by: PANews
Do Kwon can now breathe fresh air twice a day. His "new home" is filled with organized criminals awaiting trial - and he lives alone.
Do Kwon’s lawyer, Goran Rodic, revealed that the once-powerful co-founder and CEO of Terraform Labs is now being held alone in the pre-trial detention area of a dilapidated prison in Montenegro, away from other prisoners.
Earlier this year, Do Kwon tried to leave Montenegro on a private plane using a Costa Rican passport, but he failed because his passport was deemed "made with bad intentions" by prosecutors at the Montenegrin capital Podgorica District Court. He was eventually sentenced to four months in prison for forging a passport on June 19. So for the foreseeable future, Spezzi Prison in the small Balkan country of Montenegro will be Do Kwon's "new home."
Secrets of Spuzzi Prison
In 2022, Do Kwon was definitely the most famous and successful person in the crypto industry. The Terra blockchain ecosystem he created was once worth $60 billion. But now, Do Kwon is living another life. Every day, prison guards give him two opportunities to walk out of his cell and stretch his muscles in the yard of Spezzi Prison, which is located more than ten kilometers northwest of Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, and is overcrowded.
Do Kwon was sentenced to four months in prison after prosecutors convicted him of using a fake passport. His accomplice, Han Chang-Joon, was also arrested while trying to leave Montenegro and has no chance of being released. In May 2022, Do Kwon was charged with fraud by South Korean and American prosecutors for the collapse of Terra and was wanted. However, because Do Kwon hid Bitcoin in a Swiss bank, he had enough funds to flee. He has been hiding in Serbia and Montenegro for the past six months, successfully escaping Interpol's red warrant.
In fact, if Montenegrin judicial officials extradite Do Kwon and his accomplices, they will be imprisoned for at least six months. Do Kwon's lawyer revealed that Do Kwon is in good condition and emotionally stable at this stage, but the prison conditions are very poor, unlike what is shown in the movies, and imprisonment is not easy for anyone.
Above: The main entrance to Spuz Prison in Montenegro
Spezzi Prison is the largest prison in Montenegro. It is located in the Belopavlic Valley between Podgorica and Danilovgrad. Previously, there were reports of prison guards beating prisoners. In February this year, hundreds of prisoners in Spezzi Prison went on hunger strike for eight consecutive days to demand better conditions in the prison, protesting against overcrowding, poor food quality and medical conditions.
Do Kwo enjoys privileges in Spuz Prison
According to Aleksandra Dubak, legal counsel for the Civic Alliance, a non-governmental organization that monitors Montenegrin prisons, Spezzi prison houses members of some of the most aggressive mafia families in the Balkans, as well as a number of gang lieutenants accused of murder, bomb planting, extortion and running an international drug trafficking operation. According to local media reports, gang violence in Spezzi prison is so severe that authorities have had to increase surveillance to ensure that gang members do not cross paths.
Aleksandra Dubak further stated that officials at the Spuz prison placed members of rival gangs in different areas of the prison to minimize contact and prevent violence. However, this led to problems such as uneven distribution of prison space and overcrowding. At the beginning of the year, a pre-trial detention center in the Spuz prison with a capacity of 292 people actually held 380 prisoners.
Unlike most other prisoners, though, Do Kwon had a solitary cell.
“Spuze prison has been overcrowded for years, but if an inmate is given a solitary cell, there must be a special reason, perhaps a health condition, a serious risk of violence or some other special requirement,” explains Aleksandra Dubak.
Do Kwon's lawyer, Goran Rodic, does not seem to be concerned about his life in prison and said it is too early to talk about appealing the forgery conviction. His focus now is on preparing to review the extradition case. At the same time, Goran Rodic revealed that as of Tuesday (June 20), Do Kwon still had not received the extradition documents.
Will Do Kwon's extradition request cause political turmoil in Montenegro?
In fact, as early as March 29, Montenegrin Justice Minister Marko Kovac revealed at a press conference on Do Kwon's extradition that local judges will take into account all factors, including the seriousness of the criminal offense, the place where the criminal offense occurred, the order in which the extradition requests were received, and the person's citizenship and other circumstances.
However, a spokesman for the Montenegrin High Court confirmed that Do Kwon will remain in detention while the country considers South Korea's extradition request. It is worth mentioning that Do Kwon and his accomplices initially offered to pay a "six-figure" bail and were approved by the judge, but the decision was overturned after the prosecutor appealed.
According to local media reports, Do Kwon has close ties with a political party in Montenegro called "Europe Now", which was founded by cryptocurrency-friendly politician Milojko "Mickey" Spajić. The Montenegrin government claims that Do Kwon has connections with Milojko "Mickey" Spajić. Do Kwon even wrote a letter to the outgoing Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic in prison, revealing that he and Milojko "Mickey" Spajić are business partners.
It is reported that "Europe Now" opponents have asked the Special State Prosecutor's Office of Montenegro to investigate Do Kwon's letters to Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, but the "Europe Now" party seems to be dismissive of these actions and claims that someone is using Do Kwon's relationship with Milojko "Mickey" Spajić for political attacks.
Not only that, in the latest Montenegrin parliamentary elections, the "Europe Now" party won a quarter of the seats, and they have begun seeking to cooperate with other parties to form a coalition government in Montenegro, which means that Milojko "Mickey" Spajić, the leader of the "Europe Now" party, is likely to serve as the highest position in the next Montenegrin government-Prime Minister.
It is reported that in view of the complicated background behind this case, the Special State Prosecutor's Office of Montenegro has decided to initiate an inquiry into the relationship between Do Kwon and Milojko "Mickey" Spajić. The next hearing will be held on Friday local time.
