Controversial South Korean businessman Do Kwon will not be extradited to the United States. The Court of Appeals of Montenegro ruled in his favor and decided that the trial would begin again, after annulling the resolutions that would lead the creator of Terra and Luna to face American law.
In a session held on February 7, the Court of Appeals of Montenegro issued a resolution to admit the appeals of the lawyers of Do Kwon, the former CEO of Terralabs, and annul the resolution of the Podgorica High Court that authorized the extradition of the businessman.
The appeals court further returned the matter to the trial court “for further proceedings and decision-making” regarding Kwon's case.
Kwon, leader of the failed Terra and Luna cryptocurrency projects, was arrested in 2023 in the Baltic country of Montenegro after trying to travel to Dubai using a fake passport. The businessman was in hiding after the fall of crypto assets, a scenario that gave free rein to the bear market of 2022.
It was while he was in the custody of the Montenegrin authorities that two extradition requests arrived. One from the United States and one from South Korea. Both countries ask to try the businessman for fraud and other crimes related to the fall of crypto assets.
According to US prosecutors, the loss from the Terra and Luna case amounts to USD 40 billion. Authorities accuse Kwon of having deceived investors.
In the United States , Kwon would face eight criminal charges, including commodity fraud , securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud and engage in market manipulation related to his time at Terraform Labs. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) The US has also accused Kwon of “defrauding investors in crypto schemes.”
In South Korea Kwon is accused of providing false information to investors and violating the capital market law, while in Montenegro he is serving a sentence for using a false passport to try to flee to Dubai on a private jet.
In that sense, it is clear that remaining in Montenegrin territory is favorable for Kwon, due to the harsh penalties that await him in the other two countries. Meanwhile, he is still waiting for his extradition to be decided in a trial that will start from scratch.
In 2023, Kwon was almost extradited to the United States, after the Podgorica High Court authorized the procedure and it was validated by the Minister of Justice of Montenegro, Andrej Milović. The process did not take place because since then the Court of Appeals had opposed his extradition.
The one who was extradited and even accused was the former financial director of Terralabs, Han Chang-joon. He was sent from Montenegro to South Korea this week and in that country he was charged with fraud crimes.
Despite the above, the resolution to send Do Kwon to the United States “suffers from important violations,” according to the appeals court. One of them, that, according to the International Legal Assistance Law, the final decision on the extradition of the accused rests with the court handling the case and not with the Ministry of Justice.
The court emphasizes that the ruling that authorized the sending of Do Kwon to the United States to be tried for serious crimes of fraud, "is incomprehensible, the resolution does not contain foundations on the decisive facts and the foundations given are confusing, which constitute grounds for its annulment.”
With its decision, the appeals court dismisses estimates that Do Kwon would finally be extradited to the United States in March of this year, as suggested by the defendant's own lawyers.
While the case is referred back to the trial court and the trial restarts, Do Kwon remains in the custody of the Montenegrin authorities. But for the crimes of using false identification. His future legal status remains pending resolution.
