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Montenegro court rules S. Korean crypto mogul Kwon should be extradited home for fraud trial

August 1, 2024

A Montenegrin appeals court ruled Thursday that South Korean crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon should be extradited to his home country, a decision that allows for him to face trial back home over a massive crypto crash.

The appeals court announced on its web page that it finalized the Podgorica High Court’s April decision on Kwon’s extradition.

The court said the Podgorica court has allowed the summary extradition of Kwon to South Korea, while turning down a criminal extradition request from the United States.

Since neither the prosecution nor the defense has appealed the decision, the ruling by the high court stands as legally binding, the court said.

Kwon, co-founder of the cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs, is wanted both by South Korea and the U.S., where he faces investigation and indictment on charges connected to the crash of the firm’s TerraUSD and Luna coins in May 2022.

He was arrested in the European country in March last year after being caught traveling on a fake passport.

South Korean prosecutors have sought the extradition of Kwon on allegations related to the crash of Terraform Labs’ TerraUSD and Luna coins. The crash was estimated to have wiped out nearly 50 trillion won (US$37 billion) in market value.