Montenegrin Court Orders Do Kwon’s Extradition to South Korea, Rejects U.S. Appeal
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon is set to be extradited from Montenegro to his native South Korea following a ruling from the Balkan nation’s court of appeals on Thursday, August 1.
The decision concludes a protracted legal battle over whether he should face charges in South Korea or the United States. Both countries have sought his extradition due to the $40 billion collapse of the Terra/LUNA ecosystem in May 2022.
Montenegro has faced dueling extradition requests from South Korea, and the U.S. South Korea’s request, which was submitted first, was given precedence by the High Court of Podgorica.
The decision faced numerous challenges, including interventions from Montenegro’s Supreme Court and conflicting rulings over the months.
Today, the Appellate Court of Montenegro confirmed the High Court’s decision to extradite Kwon to South Korea, rejecting the U.S. appeal.
The court emphasized that South Korea’s earlier request granted it an advantage.
Kwon’s lawyer, Goran Rodić, stated that Montenegro would coordinate the extradition with Interpol and hoped for a swift resolution.
The Terra/LUNA collapse was the first in a series of high-profile cryptocurrency failures in 2022. Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, UST, lost its peg to the U.S. dollar, triggering a massive sell-off that wiped out approximately $40 billion in market value.
This collapse affected individual investors and contributed to a broader loss of confidence in the market, leading to further collapses, including that of FTX, the second-largest crypto exchange globally.
Shortly after the Terra/LUNA crash, Do Kwon went into hiding. His whereabouts are unknown despite public appearances and statements claiming he was not evading authorities.
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