Once hailed as a genius, South Korean entrepreneur arrested

SEOUL: Once hailed as a genius, South Korean entrepreneur Do Kwon - now facing multiple criminal charges over his failed criptocurrency - was a brash industry figure whose fame disintegrated into global notoriety.

After months on the run, the 31-year-old, whose full name is Kwon Do-hyung, was arrested in Montenegro on Wednesday after being caught trying to catch a flight using fake Costa Rican travel documents.

He is accused of fraud over the dramatic collapse of his company, Terraform Labs last year, which wiped out about $40 billion of investors' money and shook global criptocurrency markets.

After his arrest, the United States hit him with a lot of charges over what they called a multi-billion dollar asset securities fraud, and South Korea, where he faces separate charges, saying it wants to extradite him.

The criptocurrency he created, called Terra, was a glorified Ponzi scheme, according to experts.

As a result of the South Korean media reports as a genius, Kwon was described as a genius as thousands of private investors lined up to pour cash into his company.

Kwon and his story are a product of our times, said Cho Dong-keun, professor emeritus at Myongji University.

He knew how to win the hearts of those who so desperately wanted to make a fortune in one stroke. He knew how to exploit their anxiety and turn it into huge profits.