Montenegrin Prime Minister identified as one of the first investors in Terraform Labs: report

According to a recent report, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić was identified as one of the first investors in Terraform Labs.

Court documents released by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveal that Spajić invested $75,000 in April 2018, acquiring 750,000 Luna tokens, which at their peak were valued at $90 million.

Spajić faces potential $90 million loss

The documents indicate that Spajić was the 16th investor during the initial fundraising phase of Terraform Labs. His investment came as Terraform was raising capital for the development of its cryptocurrency project, which ultimately failed in 2022, leading to losses exceeding $40 billion for investors around the world.

In 2018, Spajić entered into a contract with Terraform Labs on the first day of the fundraiser, acquiring Luna tokens at a very low price of $0.10 each. Despite the high risks associated with early-stage investments, this price was the lowest offered in subsequent funding rounds.

SEC filings revealed that 14 individuals and 10 companies contributed approximately $13.75 million to the project's initial development and research.

The collapse of Terraform's Luna token in the spring of 2022, when its value fell from a high of $119 to almost zero, led to significant losses for investors. However, throughout the scandal, Spajić maintained that it was his employer, not him personally, who was the victim of investment fraud.

Financial experts interviewed by “Vijesti” estimate that if Spajić had held on to his tokens until the market peaked in early 2022, he would have suffered losses of almost $90 million as the token's value collapsed.

Spajić did not report Luna Holdings

Spajić did not report ownership of Luna tokens to the Corruption Prevention Agency. In his 2020 and 2021 reports, he declared that he owned Bitcoin worth €150,000. In subsequent reports, it listed various cryptocurrencies without specifying their values.

According to Visjeti, it remains unclear whether Spajić asked Do Kwon to return his investment or compensate for lost profits, and if so, what amount was recovered. It is also unclear whether Spajić sued Terraform Labs and Kwon for fraud, as he did not answer these questions.

Meanwhile, Terraform Labs and Kwon have since been held responsible for defrauding investors. The SEC obtained a settlement requiring the company to pay $4.37 billion in fines and interest and for Kwon to contribute $200 million to an investor compensation fund. Kwon, currently detained in Montenegro, faces extradition to the United States or South Korea for trial.