The Justice Minister of Montenegro, Bojan Božović, has signed a decision authorizing the extradition of Do Kwon to the United States, as confirmed by Vijesti.
Montenegro’s Supreme Court had previously ruled that the legal requirements for Do Kwon’s extradition had been met, in response to requests from both the United States and South Korea.
According to the Ministry of Justice, several criteria were considered in making the decision, including the severity of the alleged crimes, location of the offenses, the order in which extradition requests were filed, the citizenship of the individual, and the possibility of further extradition to another country. Based on these factors, the ministry concluded that the majority of legal criteria favored extradition to the United States over South Korea.
The ministry stated, “Considering the ruling of the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice reviewed all facts and circumstances and evaluated criteria such as the seriousness of the crimes, the location of their execution, the order of submitted requests, the nationality of the requested individual, the potential for further extradition, and other circumstances.
Based on these considerations, it was concluded that most criteria stipulated by law favor the request for extradition to the United States, and thus the Justice Minister issued a decision permitting Do Kwon’s extradition to the United States, while simultaneously rejecting the extradition request from South Korea.”
Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, is under investigation by U.S. and South Korean authorities for his role in what has been described as one of the largest cryptocurrency disasters in history.
In May 2022, the value of two cryptocurrencies he created, TerraUSD and Luna, collapsed, wiping an estimated $40 billion from the crypto market. This triggered a chain reaction that led several other digital asset companies to bankruptcy, with investors worldwide losing significant savings. Investigations concluded that Do Kwon misled investors and allegedly concealed assets.
Do Kwon and his business partner Han Chang-Joon were arrested on March 23, 2023, at Podgorica Airport while attempting to fly to Dubai using forged passports. He was sentenced to four months in prison in Montenegro for document falsification.
After serving his sentence, U.S. and South Korean authorities began pursuing extradition. Upon his release from Spuž prison on March 23, Montenegrin police transferred Do Kwon to the Foreigners’ Reception Center, where he will remain until the extradition process is finalized.
