Do Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro has been postponed once more, despite an earlier appellate court decision favoring his return to South Korea. The delay, requested by Montenegro’s Supreme Court and supported by the country’s top prosecutor, underscores ongoing diplomatic conflicts between South Korea and the U.S. over the Terraform Labs co-founder.
Do Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro has been delayed again, with the latest postponement coming after an appellate court decision last week that appeared to finalize his extradition to South Korea. The delay was requested by Montenegro’s Supreme Court and endorsed by Minister of Justice Andrej Milović, according to local media reports.
Since his arrest in March 2023 for using a fake Costa Rican passport, Kwon has been at the center of a diplomatic struggle. Both South Korea and the U.S. have issued competing extradition requests, each seeking to try Kwon for civil and criminal charges related to the $40 billion collapse of the Terra/LUNA ecosystem in May 2022.
Kwon, who wishes to be tried in South Korea due to its less severe penalties for financial crimes, successfully challenged an earlier U.S. extradition request. However, Montenegro’s courts, prosecutors, and government officials remain divided on which request to honor.
Goran Radić, Kwon’s defense attorney in Montenegro, criticized the ongoing delays as a “judicial disgrace” and alleged that Minister Milović had made an “illegal private promise” to extradite Kwon to the U.S., despite South Korea’s request being filed first. Radić’s comments were reported by Vijesti, a Montenegrin newspaper.
Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Milojko Spajic, has personal financial interests in Terraform Labs, which has added complexity to the situation, as reported by Bloomberg earlier this year.
The case highlights the intricate legal and diplomatic issues surrounding Kwon’s extradition, with ongoing uncertainty about where he will ultimately be tried.
