Report: Montenegrin authorities set to release Do Kwon while awaiting extradition

Authorities in Montenegro are set to release Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, following a decision on his extradition to either the United States or South Korea. Kwon, who has been in custody for nearly a year, will be allowed to leave prison on March 23, but he will have to surrender his travel documents to prevent him from leaving the country. The Council of the Supreme Court made the decision to release Kwon as they review the pending extradition decision. Kwon and his colleague, Han Chang-joon, were arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for using falsified travel documents. Both the U.S. and South Korea have filed extradition requests, but a final decision has yet to be made. If extradited to the United States, Kwon would face eight felony charges, while in South Korea, he could be indicted for fraud and violations of capital markets law. The fate of his extradition is still uncertain at this time. Prosecutors also plan to confiscate Kwon’s South Korean passport, which was revoked in 2022 after the collapse of Terra. Kwon had used a forged Costa Rican passport in Montenegro, claiming it was authentic, which led to his arrest. Other individuals associated with Terraform Labs, including co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong, also known as Daniel Shin, are facing criminal charges related to defrauding investors. Shin has remained in South Korea following the collapse of Terra in May 2022, an event that brought regulatory scrutiny and contributed to a significant cryptocurrency market downturn.