Montenegro Approves Do Kwon’s Extradition to the U.S.
Terraform creator Do Kwon will be extradited to the U.S., as confirmed by Montenegrin Justice Minister Bojan Božović. Both the U.S. and South Korean governments have sought custody of Kwon to address criminal charges linked to the 2022 collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin Terra/Luna, which initiated a series of high-profile failures, including FTX.
Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 and received a prison sentence for passport forgery. He has contested his extradition to the U.S. for over a year, with various courts ruling in favor of either the U.S. or South Korea taking custody of him.
In his statement, Božović indicated that the decision was based on the Supreme Court's ruling, confirming that the conditions for extradition had been satisfied. The Ministry of Justice evaluated factors such as the severity of the crimes, execution location, request submission order, citizenship, and potential for further extradition.
The U.S. extradition request met these criteria. This decision follows previous conflicting rulings, including an August decision by Montenegro's Appellate Court favoring South Korea.
The legal repercussions for Terra persist in the U.S.; last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges against Tai Mo Shan, a Jump Crypto subsidiary, for selling LUNA as a security, resulting in a $123 million settlement.
Editor's note: The Montenegrin government's statement was translated into English.