Montenegrin authorities on Monday announced the deportation of the business partner of cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon, after the pair were arrested at an airport in the Balkan country last year carrying fake passports.

Police have not officially released the South Korean's name, only referring to him by his initials J.C.H., and saying he had been handed back to officials in his home country. "J.C.H. was handed over to the competent judicial and police authorities in South Korea today in order to conduct criminal proceedings for more criminal offenses related to financial investment fraud services," police said in a statement, according to public broadcaster RTCG. The announcement comes just days after Do Kwon's Terraform Labs, whose cryptocurrencies crashed dramatically in 2022, sought bankruptcy protection in the United States.

The collapse of the Singapore-based firm TerraUSD and Luna wiped out around $40 billion in investments and caused wider losses in the global crypto market estimated at more than $400 billion.

Kwon faces fraud charges in both the US and South Korea for alleged crimes related to the crash.

The Terraform founder -- whose real name is Kwon Do-hyung -- had been on the run for months after fleeing first South Korea and then Singapore ahead of the company's crash last year, before being arrested in the Adriatic country of Montenegro alongside his business partner.

In late November, a court in Montenegro said Kwon would be extradited to either the US or South Korea, pending a decision by the country's minister of justice. (AFP)