Accused crypto tycoon Do Hjeong Kwon, his associate Chang Jun Han and their wives, but also their former lawyer Branko Andjelic They are demanding the return of 800.000 euros, which was once used to guarantee that the two South Koreans would not flee Montenegro, "Vijesti" learned from the court ruling and unofficial sources.
In mid-January, the law firm "Anđelić-Dragović" sued the Podgorica Basic Court for unjust enrichment, after it previously rejected the lawyers' request to return the bail money, in which they claimed that the money was not paid by the wives of Kwon and Han, but by their office.
The Basic Court's decision from July last year, which stated that Andjelic did not have the authority to ask for the money back, and that the request mentioned the families of the South Koreans as guarantors, and not his office, was confirmed by the Podgorica High Court at the end of that month.
In early August last year, the Rodić law firm filed a request to cancel the bail and return the money on behalf of Kvon, Han and their wives. The firm told "Vijesti" that, along with the request, "evidence of payments to lawyer Anđelić by the wives of Kvon and Han was also submitted." A source from the firm said that the request is being considered by the Basic Court panel.
Lawyer Anđelić did not respond to questions from "Vijesti".
The Office of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro confirmed to "Vijesti" that the Law Firm "Anđelić-Dragović" sued the state of Montenegro, namely the Basic Court in Podgorica.
"The lawsuit requests that the state return the amount of 800.000 euros to that law firm for debt and unjust enrichment. This is money that was deposited as a guarantee in the criminal proceedings initiated against Han and Kwon. In this regard, a proposal for a temporary measure to prohibit the payment of these funds to third parties has been submitted. The Protector has contested the lawsuit, and an objection has been filed to the proposed temporary measure," the office, which is managed by, responded to "Vijesti". Bojana Cirovic.
Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in late March 2023 for forging documents, and was extradited late last year to the United States, which is prosecuting him on charges of multiple crimes related to cryptocurrency trading. He was also wanted by his home country, South Korea, but after several different decisions by Montenegrin courts, Do Kwon was extradited to the United States by decision of Justice Minister Bojan Božović. Han was extradited to South Korea in February last year.
Do Kwon, who is behind two cryptocurrencies that lost an estimated $40 billion in value in 2022, was sentenced to four months in prison in Montenegro (as was Han). After serving that sentence, he spent time in a shelter for foreigners.
GUARANTEE, CANCELLATION OF POWER OF ATTORNEY, REQUESTS AND APPEALS
On June 2, 2023, the Basic Court accepted the offered bail, and ordered that Kwon and Han be released after paying 400.000 euros each.
The two were sentenced to four months in prison on June 19, 2023, for the crime of forging a document. Three days earlier, Kwon and Han revoked their power of attorney to Anđelić, and he did the same to them.
The four-month prison sentence became final on November 6, 2023.
A year later, the Law Firm "Anđelić-Dragović" asked the Basic Court to revoke the bail and return 800.000 euros.
The Podgorica court rejects this:
"The Criminal Chamber assessed that the request for the return of the bail was submitted by an unauthorized person... (In) the specific case, lawyer BA did not submit a special authorization from the defendants to return the bail to the bank account of the law partnership 'A.-D.', so it should have been rejected as unauthorized," reads the Basic Court's decision of July 9 last year, available on the institution's website.
It is also stated that on June 27th of last year, the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica gave an opinion that the legal conditions for the return of bail to Do Kwon and his business partner had been met.
It is also emphasized that the minutes of the main hearing of June 16, 2023 stated that attorney Anđelić canceled the power of attorney for the defendants Kwon and Han, "who simultaneously canceled the power of attorney for the appointed attorney."
"Namely, lawyer BA filed a request for the return of the bail to the bank account of AOD "A.-D.", given that the bail payment was made from the bank account of his law firm. However, when deciding on the request for the return of the bail, the criminal panel started from the proposal for determining the bail, which was initiated by lawyer BA, which stated that the families of the defendants CJH and KDH are offering a sum of 400.000,00 euros each as bail, and the defendants' statement at the main hearing that the bail payment will be made by their wives, who do not have any separate property, and since the amount of bail is determined by analyzing several factors, the court, in addition to assessing the risk of flight and the gravity of the criminal offense, also assessed the personal and family circumstances of the defendants, i.e. their financial situation," the Basic Court decision states.
The court also refers to Article 171 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which specifies the manner in which bail is determined.
The decision also emphasizes that "it is evident that in the case files there are two payment slips from the law firm, each for 400.000 euros, but that this is not of crucial importance, given that there is no statement in the case files by the then defense attorney for the defendants, attorney (Branka Anđelić), that he would provide bail, nor was his financial situation determined in the proceedings, nor was his ownership of the property provided as bail."
According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", the High Court also emphasizes that there is no statement in the case files by Anđelić that he will provide bail, nor was his financial situation or ownership of the property being given as bail determined in the proceedings, and that "he did not submit a special power of attorney from the defendants for this procedural action."
DO KWON EXTRADITED TO THE US
On December 27th of last year, the Minister of Justice issued a decision to extradite Do Kwon to the USA, based on a decision by the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court had previously, at its session in October last year, approved a request to suspend his extradition to South Korea or the US, at the choice of the Minister of Justice, until a final decision is made. Previously, the Supreme Court in September approved a request for protection of legality and overturned the decisions of the High and Appellate Courts on extradition to South Korea, finding that the conditions for Do Kwon's extradition to both the US and South Korea were met. In the same ruling, the court decided to submit the case files to the Minister of Justice Bojan Božović for a decision on whether to grant extradition.
Do Kwon was investigated by US and South Korean authorities for his role in one of the biggest disasters in cryptocurrency history. In May 2022, the value of two cryptocurrencies he created, TerraUSD and Luna, plummeted, wiping $40 billion off the cryptocurrency market and setting off a chain reaction that pushed other digital crypto companies into bankruptcy, according to US media. Investors around the world lost their savings. The investigation concluded that Do Kwon lied to investors and was suspected of hiding wealth. Do Kwon is on trial in a court in New York, and Han in Seoul.
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