Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, has had his extradition status to the United States or South Korea rejected by a court in Montenegro.
The official announcement on December 19 states that the Appellate Court of Montenegro vacated the High Court of Podgorica’s ruling on December 14 that had authorized Kwon’s extradition to the United States or South Korea.
Before November 2023, the High Court of Podgorica established the legal prerequisites for Kwon’s extradition. Consequently, Montenegro’s justice minister retains the ultimate authority to determine Kwon’s extradition.
By the most recent appeals court ruling, Kwon’s defense has effectively appealed against that ruling, necessitating a retrial at the Podgorica Basic Court.
The Appellate Court panel explicitly determined that a “significant violation of the provisions” of the Criminal Procedure Code of Montenegro tainted the previous decision of the High Court of Podgorica. The most recent assertion reads:
“[…] Violation is reasonably indicated by the appeal of the defendant’s defense attorneys, because the decision does not have reasons for decisive facts, and the reasons given are unclear, which is the reason for its cancellation.”
Former CEO and co-founder of Terraform Labs, the organization that developed the Terra stablecoin and the Luna token that fell victim to fraud in May 2022, Kwon is also a co-founder of the Terra blockchain.
The United States Security and Exchange Commission has determined that Terraform Labs and its co-founder Kwon were responsible for a fraudulent scheme that resulted in a minimum market value loss of $40 billion.
March 2023 saw the apprehension of Kwon in Montenegro for attempting to flee the country with forged travel documents. Shortly, both South Korea and the United States requested Kwon’s extradition, with some prosecutors estimating that the co-founder of Terraform Labs could face multiple sentences in both nations.
Daniel Shin, an additional co-founder of Terraform, faced allegations of manipulating investors. During a trial from October 2023 at the Seoul Southern District Court in South Korea, Shin maintained that his departure from Terraform in 2020 was “for business reasons” and that he had no involvement in the company’s demise.
