The High Court in Podgorica, Montenegro has made a ruling that Do Kwon, the co-founder and former CEO of Terraform Labs, should be extradited to South Korea instead of the United States. This decision can still be appealed.
On March 5, an appeals court reversed the High Court’s previous decision to extradite Kwon to the United States, citing significant violations of criminal procedure provisions. South Korea had filed an extradition request in March 2023, which was initially denied in favor of the United States’ request, filed two days earlier. Kwon has been held in prison in Montenegro since his arrest at the Podgorica airport, where he was caught trying to travel to Dubai using a purportedly fake Costa Rican passport.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Montenegrin authorities were alerted to Kwon’s presence in the country by a tipster the day before his planned flight. Kwon expressed a desire to be extradited to South Korea, as he wanted to be closer to his family, as reported by The WSJ. His lawyers raised doubts about the validity of the treaty allowing his extradition to the United States. It is reported that Kwon could face a 40-year prison sentence in South Korea.
Kwon’s lawyers requested a delay in his trial in the United States until after his extradition to that country. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission joined in this request, asking for a delay in his trial until at least March 18. The SEC has filed charges against both Terraform Labs and Kwon in its complaint.
Terraform Labs’ chief financial officer, Han Chang-joon, who was arrested with Kwon at the airport, was extradited to South Korea in February. Terraform Labs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States on January 21. The issuer of Terra’s stablecoin and the LUNA governance token collapsed in May 2022. Kwon disappeared after the collapse and was not seen until his arrest in Montenegro, although he continued to have a social media presence with over 1 million followers on X (formerly Twitter).
Kwon and Han reportedly lived in Serbia after leaving South Korea and established a consulting business despite an Interpol red notice issued for Kwon.
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