Montenegro appeals court rules Do Kwon will be extradited to South Korea

An appeals court in Montenegro denied the U.S.'s request to extradite former Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon and ruled that he would be sent to South Korea.

The Court of Appeals in Montenegro said it was confirmed the High Court of Podgorica's decision made in late June, according to a statement released by the appeals court on Thursday. 

Kwon's lawyers, the courts and prosecutors have gone back and forth for months on where the former executive should be extradited. Kwon and his lawyers have reportedly preferred his home country of South Korea where the maximum sentence for financial criminals typically ranges from 30 to 40 years. Meanwhile, the U.S. follows a principle where the court can impose consecutive sentences for each crime for which a defendant is found guilty. 

Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for using a counterfeit passport while trying to board a flight to Dubai with false Costa Rica travel documents. 

Both the U.S. and South Korea are seeking criminal charges against Kwon. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Terraform and Kwon in February 2023 over the algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD (UST), which collapsed a year earlier, causing $40 billion worth of losses. Terraform and Kwon reached a $4.47 billion settlement with the SEC in May. The company is set to pay $3.58 billion in disgorgement and $420 million in a civil penalty. The settlement terms would also block its co-founder, Do Kwon, from becoming an officer or director of any public firm.