Montenegro’s High Court in Podgorica has reportedly granted the country’s justice minister the authority to decide whether Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will be extradited to the United States or South Korea. According to a report from Montenegrin news outlet Vijesti on April 10, Justice Minister Andrej Milović will make the final decision regarding Kwon’s extradition and the country to which he will be sent. This decision followed Montenegro’s Supreme Court’s approval of a request for a protection of legality against a lower court’s decision allowing Kwon’s extradition to South Korea.
Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for using falsified travel documents while attempting to leave the country. Currently, he is allowed to travel within Montenegro while the courts deliberate on whether to grant extradition requests from the United States or South Korea, both of which seek to charge him with criminal offenses. Kwon and his colleagues at Terraform Labs are accused of fraud and deceiving investors during the platform’s collapse in May 2022. On April 5, a jury found Kwon and the company liable for fraud in a civil case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition to the civil charges, Kwon may also face criminal charges in both the United States and South Korea.
Kwon’s case in Montenegro has undergone multiple court proceedings as his legal team continues to file motions and appeals regarding procedural matters. It remains uncertain whether Kwon’s lawyers intend to appeal the April 10 ruling. Han Chang-joon, Terraform Labs’ former chief financial officer who was arrested alongside Kwon in Montenegro, was already extradited to South Korea in February. Authorities in South Korea have also indicted several individuals associated with Terraform, including co-founder Hyun-seong Shin.