Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur Do Kwon Facing Extradition from Montenegro
Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon is facing the possibility of extradition from Montenegro, as a court in the country has approved the extradition, leaving it up to a minister to decide if he will be handed over to South Korea or the United States, both of which have expressed interest in his extradition. Kwon, who is charged in the U.S. with a multibillion-dollar fraud, was also sentenced in June to four months in prison for using forged passports.
Arrest and Discovery of Forged Passports
Police reported that after arresting Kwon, they found doctored Costa Rican passports, a separate set of Belgian passports, laptop computers, and other devices in their luggage, further adding to the legal issues Kwon is facing. Kwon and his ally were sentenced earlier this year after a hearing in May, in which they denied the charges pressed by the Montenegrin prosecutor. Kwon’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment when the U.S. charges were announced, but a spokesperson for the company he founded, Terraform Labs, stated they would fight the “misguided and deeply flawed” U.S. allegations.
Decision and Final Say
The High Court in Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, announced on Friday that Do Kwon had agreed to be extradited to South Korea under an abbreviated procedure, but the decision will ultimately rest with the justice minister as multiple states have requested his handover. The court also stated that the decision will be made after Kwon completes serving his prison sentence for document forgery. Kwon’s lawyer in Podgorica was not immediately available to comment.
Background and Arrest
Kwon, a South Korean national, formerly held the position of CEO of South Korea-based Terraform Labs, the company behind the stablecoin TerraUSD, which collapsed in May 2022, causing disruptions in the cryptocurrency markets. He was detained in late March, along with Han Chang-joon, Terraform Labs’ former finance officer, as they attempted to board a flight to Dubai from Podgorica. Following Kwon’s arrest, the U.S. District Court in Manhattan made public an eight-count indictment against him for securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy.
Legal Proceedings and Scrapped Bail
In late May, a Montenegrin court annulled a bail of 800,000 euros for the pair, stating that it could not be taken as a solid guarantee, nor their promise that they would not abscond once released from detention. The extradition process is still underway as the legal proceedings surrounding Kwon’s case continue.
The extradition of Do Kwon from Montenegro will likely be a matter of interest to both South Korea and the United States as the legal process moves forward.
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