The disgraced co-founder of blockchain firm Terraform Labs, Kwon Do-hyeong, will be released on bail and stand trial.
In a notice on its homepage, a court in Montenegro said Friday that it accepts the bail request by Kwon and his associate Han Chang-joon and that they can be released if they each pay 400-thousand euros, or about 580 million Korean won.
However the two must stay at a designated apartment under house arrest and comply with court summons. If they flee or violate supervision measures, the bail will be forfeited.
The court said that based on the defendants' family and financial situation, the amount of 400-thousand euros is deemed effective to dissuade them from any attempt to flee.
Montenegrin prosecutors had opposed their release citing a flight risk and the unreasonably small bail in comparison to the two individuals' wealth.
In the first court hearing on document forgery charges held Thursday, Kwon and Han denied the allegation claiming they did not use forged passports. The next hearing is set for June 16.
Meanwhile KBS has found that two-point-nine million dollars worth of crypto coins were withdrawn from Kwon's digital wallet since last week, likely suggesting the source of bail payment.
Kwon was arrested on March 23 at the airport in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, while attempting to board a flight to Dubai with a fake passport. Kwon had been on the run for eleven months following massive investor losses of nearly 40 billion U.S. dollars worldwide caused by his cryptocurrency firm.