Montenegro’s court announced its approval on Friday for the extradition of Do Kwon, a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur. The decision now rests with the justice minister, who must determine whether Kwon will be handed over to South Korea or the United States—both countries seeking his extradition. Charged with a multibillion-dollar fraud in the U.S., Kwon and an associate were previously sentenced to four months in prison in June for utilizing forged passports, including doctored Costa Rican and Belgian documents, along with laptops and other devices.
Despite denying charges during a May hearing, Kwon’s legal team did not immediately respond to the U.S. allegations. Terraform Labs, the company founded by Kwon, declared in July its intent to contest the “misguided and deeply flawed” charges. The High Court in Podgorica revealed that Do Kwon had consented to extradition to South Korea through an expedited process. However, the final decision lies with the justice minister, given multiple extradition requests from different states. The verdict will be rendered after Kwon completes his prison term for document forgery.
Kwon’s lawyer in Podgorica was unavailable for immediate comment. The South Korean national and former CEO of Terraform Labs, associated with the collapsed stablecoin TerraUSD, was apprehended in March while attempting to fly to Dubai from Podgorica, along with Han Chang-joon, the company’s former finance officer. Following Kwon’s arrest, the U.S. District Court in Manhattan unveiled an eight-count indictment, including charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy.
In late May, a Montenegrin court revoked the pair’s 800,000 euros bail, citing its inadequacy as a solid guarantee and concerns about them fleeing upon release from detention.
