Montenegro's High Court ruled on Thursday that Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon should be extradited to his native South Korea. The ruling confirms an April ruling by the High Court of Podgorica that rejected a cryptocurrency fugitive's request for extradition to the United States. A date for Kwon's extradition to South Korea has yet to be set.
The ruling in Montenegro on August 1 is the latest in a series of protracted legal battles surrounding the disgraced cryptocurrency founder. After Montenegro's High Court ruled in March to extradite Kwon to South Korea, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling in April and sent the case to a lower court.
“As there was no appeal against the above decision, the decision of the High Court of Podgorica is legally binding with regard to the part granting the extradition in an abbreviated procedure at the request of the Republic of Korea,” the court said in a statement on Thursday.
Founded in 2018, TerraForm Labs disrupted the cryptocurrency industry by wiping out at least $40 billion in market cap in May 2022. Earlier this year, TerraForm Labs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware after its cryptocurrency collapsed in 2022.
Both the United States and South Korea are seeking Kwon's extradition from Montenegro for prosecution, after he was arrested at an airport in Montenegro with false travel documents.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Kwon and TerraForm for allegedly defrauding U.S. investors who purchased the company's digital assets, TerraUSD and Luna, in February 2023. At the same time, Kwon is wanted in South Korea on charges of fraud and financial crimes related to the collapse of Terra USD and Luna in May 2022.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement in March that it would continue to seek Kwon's extradition “in accordance with relevant international and bilateral agreements, and Montenegrin law.”
If this happens, the cryptocurrency fugitives will likely be extradited to South Korea to stand trial.
Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 after attempting to travel to Dubai on a false passport. The Terraform Labs founder was sentenced to four months in prison but remained in custody until he was released on bail in March 2024.
Kwon's bankrupt company agreed to pay just under $4.5 billion to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a civil securities fraud lawsuit. The deal also included a $204 million contribution from Kwon. TerraForm Labs also agreed to wind down its operations. Last month, the company announced a strategic sale process as part of its ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.