Do Kwon, a South Korean crypto fugitive, has been released from prison in Montenegro while the Supreme Court considers extradition requests from the United States and South Korea, according to a Bloomberg report. The Supreme Court has put a hold on Kwon’s extradition to South Korea, suspending the ruling made by a lower court.
Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, is currently facing fraud allegations in both South Korea and the U.S. These allegations stem from the collapse of Terra Luna in 2022, which resulted in a market value loss of approximately $60 billion. The decision to release Kwon was made by the Council of the Supreme Court, which is reviewing a decision that could grant or deny his extradition to South Korea. The penalties for these allegations are comparatively milder in South Korea than in the U.S., where prosecutors are seeking to charge Kwon for the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin in 2022.
Kwon’s lawyer, Goran Rodic, has confirmed his release. Kwon’s passport has been confiscated to prevent him from leaving the country. He has been relocated to a shelter for foreigners, and Rodic plans to appeal to the court for Kwon to remain free until a decision on extradition is made.
The Supreme Court’s action came after a challenge by the chief prosecutor in Montenegro, who cited procedural errors in the rulings favoring South Korea’s extradition request. Further court deliberations are needed for extradition to either country, with no specified timeline given after the announcement on Friday.
If Kwon is extradited to the United States, he would likely face eight felony charges filed by prosecutors in March 2023. Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for using falsified travel documents with his colleague, Han Chang-joon, the former chief financial officer of Terraform Labs.
Both the U.S. and South Korea have filed extradition requests for Kwon to face fraud charges in their respective countries, but a final decision has not been made.