Do Kwon, the founder of Terra, regains freedom in Montenegro

South Korean cryptocurrency fugitive Do Kwon has been released from prison in Montenegro while the Supreme Court considers extradition requests from the United States and South Korea. According to a Bloomberg report, Kwon was released on Saturday, March 23, after the Supreme Court suspended a lower court’s ruling to extradite him to South Korea. Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, is currently facing fraud allegations in both South Korea and the U.S. relating to the collapse of Terra Luna, which caused a market value loss of around $60 billion in 2022. The decision to release Kwon was made by the Council of the Supreme Court, which is reviewing the extradition request from his native South Korea. In South Korea, the penalties are less severe compared to the U.S., where prosecutors are seeking to charge Kwon for the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin in 2022. Kwon’s lawyer Goran Rodic confirmed his release and stated that Kwon’s passport has been held to prevent him from leaving the country. Kwon has been moved to a shelter for foreigners, and Rodic plans to appeal to the court for Kwon to remain free until the extradition ruling. The Supreme Court’s action came after the chief prosecutor in Montenegro challenged the procedural errors in favor of South Korea’s extradition request. The extradition to either country is pending further court deliberations, with no specified timeline provided. If extradited to the United States, Kwon could face eight felony charges filed by prosecutors in March 2023. Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for using falsified travel documents with his colleague, Han Chang-joon, the former chief financial officer of Terraform Labs. Both the U.S. and South Korea have filed competing extradition requests, and no final decision has been made.