Do Kwon Loses Appeal to a Montenegro Court and Now to be Extradited to South Korea

A Montenegro appeal court has rejected Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon’s bid to overturn a previous ruling approving his extradition to South Korea. This decision effectively clears the way for Kwon to be extradited to face criminal charges related to the catastrophic collapse of his crypto ecosystem Terra in May 2022.

The ruling comes after a high court in Montenegro initially approved Kwon’s extradition to South Korea earlier this month. Kwon had appealed that decision, but the appeals court has now rejected his appeal in a final judgment, according to an official notice released on Wednesday.

Kwon’s lawyer, Goran Rodic, confirmed that the extradition ruling is now final and cannot be appealed further by the U.S. authorities, who were also seeking his extradition.

“The decision is consistent with the case file evidence. Kwon’s sentence concludes on March 23, after which he will be extradited. That is all the information available at this time.”

Rodic

However, there is currently no firm timeline set for when the extradition to South Korea will take place.

Read Also: Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon Faces Allegations of Violating US Securities Law

Do Kwon Extradition Battle with South Korea and the U.S.

The appeals court justified its ruling by stating that South Korea’s extradition request was received earlier than the U.S. request, and therefore took precedence after assessing other legal criteria.

The U.S. Department of Justice had previously stated it would continue pursuing Kwon’s extradition to face charges in the United States as well.

Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March and initially charged with forging travel documents. His downfall has been one of the most high-profile scandals in the crypto industry.

South Korean authorities continue to push to bring Kwon back to face potential prosecution related to allegations of fraud and tax evasion stemming from the multi-billion dollar implosion of the Terra ecosystem last year.

Kwon had disputed the charges, claiming the project’s issues were caused by market forces rather than criminal actions.

With this latest rejection of his appeal, the path appears clear for Kwon’s protracted legal battle to shift to South Korea, barring any further unexpected developments.