South Korea Wins Extradition Battle With The US Over Do Kwon

Do Kwon, the ousted co-founder of Terraform Labs, is poised to be extradited to South Korea following a court ruling in Montenegro. This decision rejects the U.S. request for his extradition. Currently, no date has been set for the extradition.

What Happened

The Appellate Court of Montenegro supported an earlier ruling by the High Court of Podgorica to return Kwon to South Korea rather than the U.S., as CoinDesk reported on Thursday. This recent ruling is anticipated to resolve the ongoing dispute over the extradition location.

Although previous appeals against U.S. extradition were successful, the decision to send him to South Korea faced delays due to the Supreme Court of Montenegro. The ultimate decision regarding the extradition will be made by Montenegro Minister of Justice, according to the Office of the Supreme State Prosecutor.

Why It Matters

The legal battle against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon has been ongoing for over two years. In April, a U.S. District Court determined that Terraform Labs and Kwon had defrauded investors during the dramatic collapse of stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and its associated cryptocurrency Terra (LUNA), events that resulted in a loss exceeding $40 billion and instigated a massive cryptocurrency market downturn.

In June, Terraform Labs reached a $4.47 billion civil settlement with the SEC after being found guilty. This settlement includes $4.05 billion in disgorgement plus interest, and a $420 million civil penalty. In September 2022, Interpol issued a red notice for his arrest. He was detained in Montenegro in March 2023 while attempting to use a counterfeit Costa Rican passport to travel to Dubai. Despite an initial four-month sentence for using false documents, Kwon remained in custody until his release on bail in March of this year.