Key takeaways:
- Do Kwon cannot be extradited to his home country of South Korea just yet, so the Supreme Court of Montenegro can consider the prosecutors’ request.
- Do Kwon will be released by Montenegro’s authorities until local courts determine whether to extradite him to South Korea or the United States.
Do Kwon, a co-founder of Terraform Labs, cannot be extradited to his home country of South Korea just yet so that the Supreme Court of Montenegro can consider a request from prosecutors.
The Supreme Court of Montenegro indicated in a statement dated March 22 that it would make a decision about a request for protection of legality for a ruling made by a lower court that would have permitted Kwon’s extradition to South Korea.
In their motion, prosecutors contended that an appellate court had broken the law when it turned down an appeal from Kwon’s legal team. They maintained that only the Supreme Court of Montenegro could make a decision.
According to a March 22 report from the Montenegrin news site Vijesti, Do Kwon will be released by Montenegro’s authorities until local courts determine whether to extradite him to South Korea or the United States.
Kwon will be permitted to leave prison on March 23 after being detained for almost a year. However, in order to be allowed to leave the country, Kwon will need to turn in his travel documents.
Kwon, a citizen of South Korea, appears to have preferred extradition to his own nation over the United States. Although he has been held in Montenegro since his arrest in March 2023 for using forged travel documents, he is facing criminal accusations in both nations. Authorities are considering conflicting petitions for extradition.
Prosecutors filed eight felonies against Kwon in March 2023 relating to fraud at Terraform Labs if he is extradited to the United States. He has been charged with fraud and breaking the laws of the financial markets in South Korea. As of the time of publication, it is unknown who will prevail in the extradition dispute: South Korea or the United States.
Former chief financial officer of Terraform Labs Han Chang-joon was detained in Montenegro concurrently with Kwon, but he was deported to South Korea in February. Authorities in South Korea indicted several people connected to Terraform Labs in April 2023, including co-founder Hyun-seong Shin.
