Montenegro extradited Terraform Labs Co-Founder Do Kwon to
the United States today (Tuesday), according to the country’s interior
ministry.
Kwon, a South Korean national, was the CEO of Terraform
Labs, the company behind TerraUSD, a stablecoin that collapsed in May 2022.
This collapse triggered major volatility in cryptocurrency markets.
Extradition to US Approved After Legal Proceedings
After 18 months of legal proceedings, Montenegro approved
Kwon’s extradition to face fraud charges in the US. Kwon was at the center of
the cryptocurrency disaster that saw the loss of nearly $40 billion in a matter
of days, with the collapse of the TerraUSD and Luna tokens.
Montenegro’s Minister of Justice, Bojan Božović, signed the
extradition order following a review by the country’s Supreme Court. While
South Korea also sought Kwon’s extradition, the US request took priority due to
the severity of the charges. Montenegro has no direct extradition treaty with
either country, complicating the decision process.
Montenegro says it extradites Terraform Lab co-founder Do Kwon to US https://t.co/tLDcq6sK0r
— The Straits Times (@straits_times) December 31, 2024
Extradition Leads to US Fraud Charges
Kwon has encountered legal issues globally. In February
2023, US regulators charged him with fraud, accusing him of misrepresenting
TerraUSD’s stability. His partner, Han Cheng Jun, was extradited to South Korea
earlier this year.
In Montenegro, Kwon
served a four-month sentence for document forgery. After his release, he
was detained again while authorities decided on his extradition, as reported by
Finance Magnates.
Court Rejecting US Request
In August, a Montenegro
appeals court ruled that Do Kwon would be extradited to South Korea,
rejecting the United States’ request. However, the timeline for his transfer to
South Korea remained unclear. This decision followed months of legal battles
between South Korea and the US over Kwon’s extradition. The appeals court’s
latest ruling upheld the earlier decision of a lower court. Ultimately, Kwon
has now been extradited to the US.
This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.
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