Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, has been extradited to the United States from Montenegro, marking a significant development in the legal saga surrounding the collapse of the TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies. Montenegrin news outlet Vijesti reported the extradition on Tuesday, citing a statement from the Ministry of Justice.
According to the report, Kwon, a South Korean citizen, was handed over to US law enforcement officials and FBI agents at Podgorica Airport. The extradition follows a protracted legal battle involving competing requests from both the US and South Korea, where Kwon also faces charges.
Kwon’s arrest in Montenegro in March 2023 stemmed from his alleged use of forged travel documents. His subsequent detention paved the way for extradition proceedings, which became entangled in a complex web of legal maneuvers and conflicting court decisions.
The US indictment against Kwon includes charges of conspiracy to commit fraud related to securities transactions, money laundering, and electronic fraud. These charges are directly linked to his role in the TerraUSD and Luna collapse, an event that wiped out billions of dollars in investor funds.
The extradition was finalized after Montenegrin Minister of Justice, Bojan Božović, signed the order on Friday. This decision followed a ruling by the Constitutional Court of Montenegro, which rejected Kwon’s appeal against a previous Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court had nullified a prior ruling favoring extradition to South Korea, leaving the final decision in the hands of the Justice Minister.
The Ministry of Justice cited several factors influencing the decision, including the severity of the alleged offenses, the location of the crimes, the order in which extradition requests were received, Kwon’s nationality, and the potential for further extradition to other jurisdictions.
Kwon’s legal ordeal in Montenegro has been marked by numerous twists and turns. A Montenegrin court initially ruled in favor of extraditing him to the US in February 2024. However, this decision was reversed the following month in favor of South Korea, sparking a series of appeals and contradictory rulings.
The case even spilled over into the political arena in Montenegro, with former Justice Minister Andrej Milovic accusing Prime Minister Milojko Spajić of improperly influencing the extradition decision due to alleged financial connections between the government and Kwon.
