In anticipation of a decision from prosecutors, the Supreme Court of Montenegro has postponed the extradition of Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, to his native country, South Korea.
Regarding a lower court decision that would have authorized Kwon’s extradition to South Korea, the Council of the Supreme Court of Montenegro stated in a March 22 notice that it would render a decision on a request for legal assurance.
Prosecutors contended in the request that the denial of an appeal by an appellate court against Kwon’s legal team constituted a procedural violation, asserting that the sole jurisdiction to render a legal decision was with the Supreme Court of Montenegro.
It appears that Kwon, a citizen of South Korea, has opted for extradition to his country of origin instead of the United States. Although he is confronted with criminal offenses in both nations, he has been detained in Montenegro since his apprehension for utilizing forged travel documents in March 2023. In contrast, authorities are evaluating multiple extradition requests.
Prosecutors in March 2023 filed eight felony charges against Kwon, if extradited to the United States, in connection with the fraudulent activities at Terraform Labs.
An indictment against him in South Korea involved fraud charges and capital market law violations. At the time of publication, it is uncertain whether the U.S. or South Korea will prevail in the extradition dispute.
Former Terraform Labs chief financial officer Han Chang-joon was detained in Montenegro concurrently with Kwon but was deported to South Korea in February. Hyun-seong Shin, one of the co-founders of Terraform Labs, was among the individuals indicted by South Korean authorities in April 2023.