Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon is finally set to be extradited to South Korea after a more than year-long legal process in Montenegro.
The Appellate Court upheld the Higher Court’s June decision to prioritize South Korea’s extradition request over that of the US. The prioritization was based on the order of request submissions, with South Korea’s request arriving first.
Consequently, Kwon will be extradited to South Korea to face charges related to the collapse of his crypto projects, TerraUSD and LUNA, which collapsed in 2022 and resulted in substantial financial losses for investors globally.
Protracted legal saga
Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 while attempting to travel to Dubai using falsified travel documents. He was sentenced to four months in a Montenegrin prison for document forgery. Soon after his arrest, both South Korea and the US submitted extradition requests.
In November 2023, the Higher Court of Podgorica initially approved Kwon’s extradition to either South Korea or the United States, leaving the final decision to the Montenegrin Minister of Justice. However, Kwon’s defense contested the decision, leading to a series of appeals and retrials.
In March, the Court of Appeals of Montenegro overturned the previous decision to extradite Kwon to the US and directed a retrial to determine the appropriate extradition destination. The High Court ultimately ruled in favor of South Korea’s request due to precedence.
Criminal charges
In addition to the extradition proceedings, Do Kwon and Terraform Labs recently reached a tentative settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding fraud charges.
The settlement follows an April jury verdict that found Kwon and Terraform Labs guilty of defrauding investors by misrepresenting the stability of TerraUSD. The SEC announced in June that Kwon and Terraform Labs will pay over $4.5 billion in penalties.
Despite the SEC settlement, Kwon still faces significant legal challenges. The US Department of Justice has charged him with criminal fraud related to the collapse of Terraform Labs, while South Korea has levied charges of fraud, bribery, and market manipulation.
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