Montenegro’s Supreme Court sends Do Kwon’s extradition case back to lower court

The Supreme Court of Montenegro has annulled a decision from the country’s lower courts affecting the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to either the United States or South Korea.

In an April 5 notice, Montenegro’s Supreme Court said it had approved a request for a protection of legality against a lower court decision that would have allowed Kwon’s extradition to South Korea. Prosecutors who made the request argued that an appellate court violated procedure in rejecting an appeal from Kwon’s legal team, placing the final decision on the Supreme Court.

“In a situation where it is a matter of competing requests from two states for the extradition of the same person, and not a conflict of requests for the extradition of the same person, as found by the lower courts, the court’s obligation is to determine, in accordance with its powers, whether the legal conditions for extradition have been met the defendant in relation to each petition individually, after which the competent minister, not the court, decides on the permission and order of priority of extradition,” said the ruling.

The Supreme Court said the decision of Kwon’s extradition would return to the High Court in Podgorica, which could decide whether the Terraform co-founder is sent to the U.S. or his native South Korea. He faces criminal charges in both countries but has been in Montenegro since his arrest in the country in March 2023 for using falsified travel documents. Kwon reportedly remains free to travel within Montenegro until the courts decide on his extradition case.

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With the absence of Kwon, lawyers representing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have moved forward with a jury trial against Terraform and the co-founder in March. Some of Kwon’s previous statements have been read into the record at trial. The case was ongoing at the time of publication.

While Kwon remains in Montenegro, Terraform Labs’ former chief financial officer Han Chang-joon — also arrested in March 2023 — was extradited to South Korea. South Korean authorities have indicted several individuals connected to Terraform Labs, including co-founder Hyun-seong Shin.

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