Do Kwon to be extradited to US following last-ditch effort in Montenegrin court: Report

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, who has been in Montenegro since his arrest in March 2023, will reportedly be extradited to the United States to face fraud charges.

According to a Feb. 21 report from Montenegrin news outlet Pobjeda, the High Court of Podgorica rejected a request to extradite Kwon to South Korea before the United States. The decision followed an appeal by Kwon’s legal team, arguing that Montenegro’s Justice Minister had the final authority to decide on the Terraform co-founder’s extradition — a claim the high court rejected.

It’s unclear when Kwon will travel to the United States. After the collapse of Terra in May 2022, his whereabouts were largely unknown until March 2023, when Montenegrin authorities arrested Kwon for using falsified travel documents. He was sentenced to four months in prison and has been involved in extradition proceedings while in custody.

Related: Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Authorities in the U.S. and South Korea have been fighting for the first bite of the apple when charging Kwon with fraud related to his time at Terraform. The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged the Terra co-founder with eight criminal counts shortly after his arrest in Montenegro.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has a civil case against Kwon and Terra, with a trial scheduled for March 25. Both parties were alleged to have orchestrated a “multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud” related to offering TerraUSD (UST) and Terra (LUNA).

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