Key takeaways:
- Do Kwon was released from prison in Montenegro while the Supreme Court considered South Korea’s and the United States request for extradition.
- The Council will now consider a decision that might approve or disapprove of his extradition to his home country of South Korea.
Do Kwon, a South Korean crypto fugitive, was released from prison in Montenegro while the Supreme Court considered South Korea’s and the United States’ request for extradition.
A report from Bloomberg states that he was released on Saturday, March 23. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision and stopped the extradition of the co-founder of Terraform Labs to South Korea.
Kwon is presently dealing with claims of fraud in the United States and South Korea related to the Terra collapse, which caused the company to lose over $60 billion in market value in 2022. By phone, Darko Vukcevic, the head of prisons, allegedly stated:
“We released Do Kwon from prison as his regular prison term for traveling with fake papers ended. Since he is a foreign citizen and his documents were withheld, he was taken for an interview to the police directorate for foreigners, and they will deal with him further.”
According to reports, the Supreme Court Council made the decision to free Kwon. The Council will now consider a decision that might approve or disapprove of his extradition to his home country of South Korea.
Penalties in South Korea are less severe than those in the US, where Kwon is being prosecuted for the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin in 2022.
Goran Rodic, Kwon’s attorney, likewise attested to his release. According to state TV, Kwon’s passport has reportedly been withheld to prevent him from leaving the nation.
According to state TV, Kwon was moved later on Saturday to a foreigner’s shelter, which cited Rodic. Rodic said he intended to file an appeal with a court to keep Kwon free until an extradition decision was made.
Subsequent to a challenge by the chief prosecutor of the Balkan nation, who pointed out procedural irregularities in the rulings supporting South Korea’s request, the Supreme Court took action. After the announcement on Friday, no specific date was given for the court’s considerations over extradition to either country.
Prosecutors in March 2023 filed eight felonies against the co-founder of Terraform Labs, should he be extradited to the US. In March 2023, Kwon was detained in Montenegro for using forged travel documents with Han Chang-joon, the former chief financial officer of Terraform Labs, his colleague.
Although rival extradition requests were made by US and South Korean authorities to bring fraud charges against Kwon in their respective nations, no decision has yet been made.
