U.S. Court filings link Montenegro PM to defunct Terraform Labs

Montenegro PM, Milojko Spajic may have invested in the now-defunct Terraform Labs in 2018, according to court documents presented in a lawsuit filed by the SEC. This came to light as the U.S. and South Korean governments demanded Do Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro.

Also read: Binance faces U.S. court again over crypto securities allegations

The United States SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has stirred controversy by revealing the Montenegro PM’s personal involvement with Terraform Labs. The relationship between the embattled company and one of its first investors is yet another case causing ripples in the cryptocurrency market.

Court documents link Montenegro PM with Terraform Labs

A recent report has exposed the personal investments of Montenegro’s Prime Minister in Terraform Labs Pte before the company’s collapse. The discovery follows filings by the U.S. SEC that showed Spajic was one of the first investors in the cryptocurrency firm currently facing dissolution after agreeing to a $4.7 billion settlement with the SEC.  

While denying these allegations, the 36-year-old pro-Western political figure and former banker pointed out that the investment was made by Das Capital, a company based in Singapore of which he was a partner. The SEC tabled this evidence through one of its accounting financial experts in a bid to explain why Do Kwon, one of TFL’s founders, opted for Montenegro, where he is currently residing, in an attempt to escape prosecution.   

Kwon is currently held in a Montenegro shelter for undocumented foreigners, awaiting a crucial decision by the High Court on whether to extradite him to the U.S. as supported by the Justice Minister or back to his home country, South Korea, which Kwon prefers.

Spajic’s investment would have hit $90M before the crash

Spajic was one of the first investors, having signed a contract for an initial investment of $75000, which is suspected to have grown to around $90 million before the TFL pyramid scheme went belly up in 2022. According to Bloomberg, the Montenegro PM refused to answer questions from Vijesti, an independent news outlet in his country, about whether he would sue TFL and Do Kwon for defrauding him and other investors.

The collapse of Terraform Labs saw its investors lose close to $40 billion, leading to its imminent liquidation, according to the current Terraform Labs CEO, Chris Armani. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Armani expressed his gratitude to all investors and other stakeholders for their support throughout these trying times while pointing out that,

“TFL always intended to dissolve at some point and that point is now. We will be winding down operations completely… We were well positioned to accelerate things if we had won the trial, but unfortunately we lost and as a result, can no longer operate.”

The opposition in Montenegro’s government is now pushing for the PM’s resignation in connection to this case and his involvement in what is now being termed a grand pyramid scheme that defrauded countless investors.

Cryptopolitan reporting by Collins J. Okoth