Do Kwon Extradition Now Set By Court After Fierce Litigation

Key Points:

• The Court of Appeal of Montenegro ratified the ruling for Do Kwon extradition to South Korea by dismissing the US request.
• Kwon faces accusations of $40 billion cryptocurrency fraud connected to the fall of TerraUSD and Luna.

According to Barron's, the Court of Appeal of Montenegro confirmed a ruling to extradite South Korean national Do Kwon, former chief financial officer at Terraform Labs, to South Korea and rejected a competing request from the United States.

Read more: Do Kwon Extradition Is Handed Over To Justice Minister With US Capabilities Emerging 

Montenegro Court Upholds Do Kwon Extradition to South Korea

The ruling sustained an earlier decision made by the Higher Court in Podgorica that opted for South Korea over the United States as the destination.

Do Kwon faces allegations of orchestrating a $40 billion cryptocurrency fraud scheme associated with the drop of both TerraUSD and Luna in May of 2022. The Do Kwon extradition represents one of the strongest legal pressures levied by the South Korean and US governments against suspected capital market and security fraudsters.

Former Terraform Labs CEO's Legal Troubles Expand with U.S. Settlement and Extradition

It was not until March 2023 that the law finally caught up with Kwon when he was arrested at the Podgorica airport while trying to travel with fake documents, for which he received a four-month jail sentence. It is while serving this jail term that a number of Do Kwon extradition requests were sent in by South Korea and the U.S. His business partner, Chang Joon, who is also behind bars, was extradited to South Korea in February this year.

In the first case, Montenegro's legal system was in favour of the U.S. plea but changed its decision in favour of South Korea because South Korea showed more significant charges and had called a request before the U.S. decision was then followed by the Court of Appeal and thus was lawfully changed as the Supreme Court followed the decision and hence motion had no more appeals.

Other legal battles facing Kwon include the largest civil fraud verdict brought against him in April 2024, after a New York jury declared Kwon and Terraform Labs liable and approved a $4.5 billion settlement with the SEC. Still, U.S. authorities press their criminal case against him.