Former cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon’s legal team is preparing to appeal a recent court decision in Montenegro. The court decided to extradite the Terraform Labs co-founder to the United States, bypassing South Korea, where he was wanted on fraud charges.
Podgorica-based lawyer Goran Rodic, who represented Kwon, expressed his belief that the “illegal decision” would not stand up before the Court of Appeal, citing two previously overturned decisions. The ongoing legal struggle witnessed contradictory decisions of two different courts in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.
The Supreme Court’s latest decision on Wednesday supported Kwon’s extradition to the United States but rejected South Korea’s request. Rodic plans to appeal, criticizing the court for not verifying the accuracy of the facts. Refraining from providing further details, Rodic stated that these would be presented in the upcoming appeal.
Kwon and his partner, Han Chang-joon, were caught in Montenegro about a year ago while trying to travel with fake passports. Both individuals have been charged by the United States and South Korea in connection with the 2022 collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin. The incident wiped out at least $40 billion in investor assets and triggered a downturn in the crypto market. Earlier this month, Montenegro extradited Han Chang-joon to South Korea.
Kwon remains in extradition custody, in addition to serving local fines in Montenegro for using false travel documents. Authorities are considering which country to extradite Kwon to. In December, an appeals court in Podgorica annulled a previous Supreme Court ruling that had allowed extradition to the United States or South Korea.
The final approval for extradition belongs to the Montenegrin Minister of Justice. A source familiar with the matter, who did not want to be named, stated that the government intends to approve extradition to the United States, but the decision has not yet been made public.
*This is not investment advice.
