Montenegro to Extradite Do Kwon to the United States

The High Court of Podgorica has decided to extradite Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to the United States, according to Vijesti.

The court rejected a similar request from South Korean authorities.

The ruling is not legally binding, as Kwon’s lawyers have the right to appeal.

“We have received the decision of the High Court of Podgorica to extradite our client to the United States. It is illegal, as were the two previous decisions that were overturned by the Montenegrin Court of Appeals,” stated lawyers Goran Rodic and Marija Radulovic.

On March 23, 2023, police arrested Do Kwon and former Terraform Labs CFO Han Chang-Joon as they attempted to fly from Podgorica airport to Dubai using fake Costa Rican passports. Belgian documents were also found during the search.

The arrest was made at the request of law enforcement agencies from the United States, South Korea, and Singapore.

South Korean authorities have filed numerous charges against Kwon, including violations of capital markets law. In the United States, he is involved in a fraud case led by the SEC and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in New York.

In November, the High Court of Montenegro approved the extradition of the former TFL head, giving Justice Minister Andrej Milovic the option to choose the country. Media reports indicated the official favored the United States.

In December, Kwon’s defense successfully appealed the decision in the Court of Appeals, resulting in its annulment. In February 2024, the court granted a petition from the entrepreneur’s lawyers against a new extradition order at the discretion of the Ministry of Justice.

Earlier, Kwon’s associate, the former CFO of Terraform Labs, was handed over to Korean authorities by Montenegrin law enforcement in early February.