In a decision that concludes a series of prolonged legal proceedings, Montenegro’s Minister of Justice, Bojan Božović, has signed an order for the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to the United States. The announcement was confirmed to the Montenegrin daily newspaper Vijesti on Friday, marking the end of months of legal wrangling that pitted the United States against the Republic of Korea in a dual effort to bring the controversial entrepreneur to trial.
Do Kwon Will Be Extradited To The US
The Supreme Court of Montenegro had already determined that all legal prerequisites for Do Kwon’s extradition were met upon receiving separate requests from both the Republic of Korea and the United States. Their ruling permitted Minister Božović to review the facts and decide which jurisdiction would take priority.
“In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Department of Justice has considered all the facts and circumstances and assessed criteria such as the gravity of the crimes, the place of commission, the order in which the request was submitted, the nationality of the requested person, the possibility of further extradition to another country, as well as other circumstances,” said the Department of Justice in a statement provided to Vijesti.
The statement continued: “Given the above, it was concluded that most of the criteria provided for by law support the extradition request of the competent authorities of the United States of America, and the Minister of Justice has issued a decision allowing the extradition of Kwon Do Hyeong to the United States of America, while at the same time refusing extradition to the Republic of Korea.”
Do Kwon attracted scrutiny from both US and South Korean authorities for his alleged role in one of the most significant collapses in crypto history. In May 2022, the values of TerraUSD and Luna—two tokens created by Kwon—imploded. This event wiped out approximately $40 billion from the broader crypto market, triggering a cascade of bankruptcies among other digital asset firms.
Investigators contend that Do Kwon misled investors and further suspect he concealed sizable wealth linked to the TerraUSD/Luna crash. The crypto entrepreneur and the former finance officer of Do Kwon’s company Terraform Labs, Han Chang-joon, were arrested at Podgorica airport on March 23 of last year after authorities determined they were traveling with forged passports en route to Dubai. Do Kwon subsequently received a four-month prison sentence in Montenegro—a development that spurred both US and South Korean officials to step up extradition requests.
Following his release from Spuž Prison on March 23, Montenegrin authorities transferred Do Kwon to an immigration inspector. After a five-hour interrogation, he was escorted to the Immigration Center, where he remains pending final arrangements for his extradition.
At press time, Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) traded at $0.00011565.
Featured image from BBC, chart from TradingView.com
