Montenegro’s Justice Ministry has decided to extradite Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, to the United States to face prosecution.
This decision addresses a standoff between the US and South Korea, both of which had requested Kwon’s extradition.
In a statement , the Justice Ministry of Montenegro stated, “Most of the criteria envisaged by the law are in favour of extradition demands from the institutions of the United States of America.”
Do Kwon is accused in both the US and South Korea of fraud and other crimes related to the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin and its sister token Luna in 2022, which caused a $40 billion loss in the cryptocurrency market. He was arrested in Montenegro last year while attempting to travel using a fake passport.
While this decision appears to favour the US, earlier rulings by Montenegrin courts supported his extradition to South Korea instead, leaving some uncertainty about the final outcome.
The US Department of Justice has charged Kwon with fraud, and Terraform Labs agreed to pay a $4.5 billion settlement with the SEC following allegations of securities fraud. Kwon’s lawyer had argued for extradition to South Korea in line with his client’s preference but has not provided further comments since the announcement.
