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Do Kwon Loses Legal Battle, Faces Extradition to the United States
- After initial plans to extradite Do Kwon to the United States were overturned by Montenegro’s High Court, the decision was eventually reinstated.
- Montenegro’s decision to extradite Kwon to the US rather than to his native South Korea is due to political reasons.
- Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, was arrested in Montenegro while attempting to fly to Dubai, leading to several months in prison.
You may be forgiven for not being up-to-date with what’s happening with Do Kwon the fallen founder of Terraform Labs who is facing fraud charges in the United States and his native South Korea—but there has been a lot of forth and back.
First, Kwon got caught while trying to leave Montenegro for Dubai on board a private jet but instead got arrested by local police.
Then Kwon and his former CFO, Han Chang-Joon, spent several months in a Montenegrin prison for the use of fake Costa Rican passports. In December news broke that Kwon was going to be extradited to the United States, and not South Korea.
Later the High Court of Montenegro overturned that decision citing procedural issues. Meanwhile Han Chang-Joon was extradited to South Korea, with speculations circulating that Kwon might follow him.
However, as local news site Pobjeda now reports, the High Court in Podgorica decided enough is enough and Kown will be extradited to the States.
Political Reasons to Not Send Do Kwon to Native South Korea
The decision is of a political nature, the Minister of Justice, Andrija Milović explained, as the country is working on a bilateral extradition agreement with the US, and also citing the country as Montenegro’s main foreign policy partner.
The US is our main foreign policy partner; we want to sign a bilateral extradition agreement as soon as possible to create a legal framework for future extraditions.
Andrija Milović, Montenegro’s Minister of Justice It seems the story will now finally come to an end for Do Kwon, who will be tried in the United States—a development the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is patiently awaiting, having rescheduled to accommodate his attendance.
Author
Aaron Feuerstein
Aaron Feuerstein is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. His focus is on decentralised finance and the regulatory space surrounding blockchain. He holds a Master's in Accounting. When he is not studying the latest legal case, he enjoys his time as a modest but eager hobby cook.
