Montenegro’s top prosecutor contests Do Kwon’s South Korea extradition
Quick Take
- Montenegro’s Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office said the court’s decision to extradite Do Kwon to South Korea overstepped its authority.
- Kwon, behind Terra-Luna’s $40 billion collapse of 2022, was arrested in Montenegro last year.
Montenegro's top prosecutors are pushing back against a decision from their country's highest court to extradite Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to his native South Korea.
Prosecutors are contesting the extradition's legality, claiming Montenegro's High Court overstepped its powers in carrying out an “abbreviated” legal procedure to secure Kwon’s transfer to South Korea instead of the U.S., according to a translation of its statement released on Thursday. Those extradition powers belong chiefly to the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice, prosecutors said in the statement, which refers to former Terraform leader Kwon Do-hyeong by his initials, K.D.H.
Montenegro's High Court said in a statement on Friday that it would pause Kwon's extradition, a major concession to the country's prosecutors. The freeze will remain in effect until a judge rules on the extradition request early next week. The extradition's approval or denial will come on the heels of the court's ruling early next week on whether the extradition is legally valid according to Montenegrin law.
Earlier this week, Kwon seemed ready to pack his bags for the U.S. On Wednesday, the Balkan country’s Appellate Court confirmed the High Court’s decision to extradite Kwon to South Korea, as it rejected Kwon’s latest appeal.
Between South Korea and the U.S., Kwon and his lawyers have reportedly preferred his home country, where the maximum sentence for financial criminals typically ranges from 30 to 40 years. In contrast, the U.S. follows a principle where the court can impose consecutive sentences for each crime of which a defendant is found guilty.
The Crash
Terraform Labs’ algorithmic stablecoin Terra and sister cryptocurrency Luna crashed in May 2022, wiping out over $40 billion worth of market capitalization in a matter of days. Since then, U.S. and South Korean authorities have sought Kwon and Terraform Labs on charges including fraud and violations of securities laws.
Kwon, who has been a fugitive with an Interpol Red Notice issued for his arrest, was apprehended in Montenegro last March for attempting to travel with fake documents.
UPDATE (12:15 p.m. EDT): Adds information about a Montenegrin High Court's decision to pause Do Kwon's potential extradition from Montenegro.
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