Montenegro Court Extradites Do Kwon to South Korea, not US

Reports show that the Montenegrin appeals court has upheld a ruling by a lower court to hand over Do Kwon to South Korea. The South Korean mogul, often known as “the cryptocurrency king,” will serve time in his native country, not the United States. 

Do Kwon extradited to his native South Korea

US and South Korean authorities are seeking the former CEO and co-founder of crypto company Terraform Labs for alleged involvement in capital market and securities fraud involving assets worth around $40 billion. 

Do Kwon and his business associate Chang Joon were arrested at Podgorica airport in March 2023 while attempting to fly to Dubai on a fake passport. Chang, who was solely wanted in South Korea, was extradited to Seoul on February 5. To this end, he has already served a prison sentence in Montenegro for using a fake passport.

In recent months, several Montenegrin courts have issued and overturned rulings to extradite Kwon to the United States or South Korea. The Montenegrin Appeals Court announced on Thursday that its ruling is legally binding.

Terra was the first domino to fall in a series of high-profile crypto company bankruptcies in 2022, including FTX, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange.

According to the Office of the Supreme State Prosecutor, only Montenegro’s minister of justice can make a final judgment on where Kwon will be extradited. Milojko Spajic, Montenegro’s Prime Minister. It was not immediately clear when Kwon would be extradited. 

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