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By 2020, nearly 950 FutureNet investors had reported losses totaling 16 million euros to South Korean authorities, sparking a widespread investigation that ultimately led to Ziemian’s indictment.
Controversial crypto trading platform FutureNet’s co-founder and wanted fugitive Roman Ziemian has been arrested in Montenegro. Ziemian is accused of defrauding investors out of nearly $21 million, according to local media based on Montenegrin police’s statements.
FutureNet, which began in 2014 as a relatively simple matrix cycler, gained notoriety in 2017 when it shifted towards multi-level marketing (MLM) and cryptocurrency schemes. The platform soon found itself at the center of fraud allegations. FutureNet also launched a native cryptocurrency called FuturoCoin (FTO) in 2018, which was a big failure. Although the coin was briefly rebooted in 2019, it failed again to gain traction.
By 2020, nearly 950 FutureNet investors had reported losses totaling 16 million euros to South Korean authorities, sparking a widespread investigation that ultimately led to Ziemian’s indictment.
Ziemian, a Polish citizen, had been a fugitive since October 2022, when he fled house arrest in Italy. His escape prompted both Poland and South Korea to issue international warrants for his arrest. The authorities have charged Ziemian with aggravated fraud, money laundering, and involvement in an advanced criminal scheme associated with FutureNet.
A global law enforcement operation coordinated by Montenegrin authorities and Interpol, led to Ziemian’s capture. As per the reports, he was found living under a false identity in a newly constructed residential area in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.
During the operation, officers from Montenegro’s Sector for Fighting Crime and the Regional Security Center “Centar” seized various technical devices and items believed to be linked to Ziemian’s criminal activities, as reported by Radio Slobodna Evropa.
Ziemian is expected to appear before an investigating judge at the High Court in Podgorica, where it will be determined which country will ultimately receive him for prosecution. Both Poland and South Korea have expressed interest in his extradition.
Last year, authorities also apprehended FutureNet’s other co-founder, Stefan Morgenstern, a German national, in Greece. After fleeing Greece, he was re-arrested in Albania in September 2023 and is now expected to face a life sentence.
A Notable Case
Ziemian’s arrest in Montenegro is particularly notable given that Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, the firm behind the rise and fall of the UST algorithmic stablecoin and cryptocurrency LUNA, is temporarily kept in jail there. Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for attempting to travel with a fake passport. Interestingly, both South Korea and the United States are vying for his extradition.
Montenegro’s Supreme Court recently ruled that the decision to extradite Kwon lies with the country’s Justice Minister, Andrzej Milovic. While Kwon was initially slated for extradition to South Korea, legal actions by his defense team have delayed the process.
In the latest development, a South Korean court decided that Kwon’s wife will retain her real estate holdings, including property shares, without any seizures.
