Montenegrin court rejects Do Kwon’s appeal to stop extradition to South Korea

A court in Montenegro has rejected an appeal from Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon that could have blocked his extradition to South Korea.

In a March 20 announcement, the Appellate Court of Montenegro said it had upheld a decision from the country’s high court allowing Kwon to be extradited to South Korea, where he holds citizenship. The Terraform Labs co-founder could face “several criminal offenses” if the extradition moves forward.

“Deciding on the appeal of the defendant’s counsel, the panel of the Court of Appeals assessed that the first-instance court had correctly established that the request of the Republic of South Korea arrived earlier in the order of arrival compared to the request of the USA,” said the appellate court. “[It] made a decision allowing the extradition of the accused Do Kwon to South Korea.”

Authorities in Montenegro arrested Kwon in March 2023 for using falsified travel documents in March 2023. Since then, he has remained in the country as the United States and South Korea filed competing requests for extraditing the Terraform co-founder.

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The criminal case against Kwon in the U.S., where he faces eight felony counts, will likely be moving forward even if he is not able to appear in person. A Montenegrin court ruled in February that Kwon be extradited to the U.S., but his lawyers successfully appealed that decision in March, leading to South Korea’s claim taking the lead.

During Kwon’s time at Terraform Labs, the firm collapsed in May 2022 due in part to its handling of tokens formerly called TerraUSD (UST) and Terra (LUNA). The fall of the platform likely contributed to a crypto market downturn in 2022, in which several firms declared bankruptcy or otherwise collapsed.

It’s unclear what, if any, legal maneuvers Kwon’s lawyers have at their disposal to fight the extradition to South Korea. The country’s government has been imposing harsh penalties on criminals involved in crypto-related offenses following the collapse of Terra.

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