On September 13, roughly four months after the ຍຸບລົງສົມບູນ of algorithmic stablecoin terra and crypto token luna, South Korean authorities issued a warrant for founder Do Kwon ຖືກຈັບ. Lo and behold, he was nowhere to be found.
Kwon left to Singapore before legal action could be taken against him regarding the thousands of investors now left empty-handed. To quiet down speculators, he tweeted on September 17 that he was not, in fact, ສຸດແລ່ນ. He filmed ການສໍາພາດ — for media outlets that he financially backed — in which he suggested the move to Singapore had always been the plan.
“For any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don’t have anything to hide,” a tweet read.
Less than two weeks after South Korea issued its arrest warrant, Interpol released a Red Notice. This was sent to all 195 member states and requested that local authorities bring in Kwon; the only countries and territories not included are North Korea, Taiwan, Palau, Tuvalu, Kosovo, and Western Sahara.
In December, Kwon was spotted by authorities in Serbia after appearing in Dubai, leaving some wondering why he chose to go there. Only, Serbia is a much more likely place for a crypto fugitive like Kwon to ensure they remain hidden.
Kwon fleeing to Serbia makes more sense than Singapore
Compared to South Korea, Singapore adopts friendlier regulatory policies and a state-sponsored investment fund, Temasek, which has backed several crypto projects. But it appears the country wasn’t friendly enough.
When exactly the Terraform Labs founder decided to depart Singapore is unclear. The time frame further coincides with the filing of a $57 million class action ກົດຫມາຍວ່າດ້ວຍ against him in the country’s High Court, which was due at his doorstep any day.
It looks like he put some thought into where he would land next.
Serbia, where he was last reported to be located, is one of four countries that border Kosovo — which happens to be one of the only places without representation at Interpol. Serbia and South Korea have never signed an extradition treaty, yet have both ໄດ້ຕົກລົງກັນ to the European Convention on Extradition. Meaning, Kwon would absolutely meet the ມາດຕະຖານ to be handed over by Serbia.
But there are other factors that make Kwon’s return less likely. Seung Jae-Hyeon, a researcher at the Korea Criminal Justice Policy Institute, said in an interview with Chosun ilbo: “Extraditions need to be mutually beneficial. Serbia is still an unprecedented nation in this regard.
“If there is no incentive for Serbia, South Korea will need to exercise public power to secure extradition. It seems that it will be difficult to extradite [Kwon] in a short period of time.”
In Serbia and neighbouring countries, rules and regulations are possibly sidelined if you have enough cash and the borders allow for easy transit, making it likelier for a fugitive to make a getaway if need be. Serbia lies upon the Balkan Route, a known passage for trafficking ຢາເສບຕິດ like cocaine and other illicit goods. In 2022, over 145,600 migrants made “irregular border crossings” into the EU via the Balkan Route, an ເພີ່ມຂຶ້ນ 136% ທຽບໃສ່ປີຜ່ານມາ.
Black markets have thrived for decades, ever since the Bosnian and Kosovo Wars and the fall of genocidal dictator Slobodan Milošević. The economies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia are largely cash-based, leaving fewer digital footprints.
Source: https://protos.com/why-serbia-makes-sense-for-crypto-fugitive-do-kwon/