Montenegro arrests co-founder of $21 million FutureNet crypto scam
Date: 2024-08-21 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
The arrest was made in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica, where Zemjan was reportedly living with forged documents, according to a statement from the Police Department.
Zemjan is wanted by authorities in South Korea and Poland on charges of fraud, money laundering, and theft.
Zemjan could face life in prison if convicted
The South Korean government has indicated that Zemjan could face life in prison if convicted.
Following his arrest, Montenegrin police seized several items and devices believed to be related to his alleged criminal activities.
Zemjan is scheduled to appear before a High Court judge in Podgorica, who will decide whether he will be extradited.
FutureNet, the company Zemyan co-founded with Stefan Morgenstern in 2018, marketed itself as a multi-level marketing platform with its own cryptocurrency, FuturoCoin (FTO).
However, the token’s value has plummeted, highlighting the fraudulent nature of the venture.
In March 2019, Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) issued a warning about FutureNet, calling it a potential pyramid scheme.
The organization sold “participation packages” worth between $10 and $10,000, promising investors profits for bringing in new members.
The scam began to unravel in mid-2020, when South Korean authorities launched an investigation into FutureNet after 950 people complained they had lost millions of dollars.
Zemyan was first arrested in Italy in October 2022 and was placed under house arrest, from which he later escaped.
His partner, Morgenstern, was also detained in Greece that month, escaped house arrest, but was recaptured in Albania in August 2023.
Both Zemjan and Morgenstern are expected to be extradited to South Korea, where they could face life in prison.
Do Kwon awaits extradition
Zemjan’s case has similarities to that of Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, who is also detained in Montenegro and faces similar charges.
Earlier this month, Kwon’s extradition was delayed again after Montenegro’s Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office filed a request to review the legality of the extradition conditions to South Korea.
Both South Korea and the United States want to try Kwon on civil and criminal charges related to the $40 billion Terra/LUNA ecosystem collapse in May 2022.
Both countries have filed competing extradition requests to Montenegro, where Kwon has been in custody since March 2023, when he was arrested for using a fake Costa Rican passport to try to flee to Dubai.
