Montenegrin court postpones Do Kwons extradition to South Korea

Do Kwon faces fraud charges in the United States and South Korea as authorities compete to extradite the Terraform Labs co-founder.

The Supreme Court of Montenegro has ordered that the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to his native South Korea be postponed until it can decide on a request from prosecutors.

In a March 22 notice, Montenegro‘s Council of the Supreme Court said it would decide on a request for a protection of legality for a lower court decision that would have allowed Kwon’s extradition to South Korea. Prosecutors argued in the request that an appellate court violated procedure in rejecting an appeal from Kwon‘s legal team, claiming only Montenegro’s Supreme Court had the authority to adopt a legal decision.

Kwon, a South Korean national, has seemingly preferred extradition to his native country rather than the United States. He faces criminal charges in both countries but has been in Montenegrin custody since his arrest in the country in March 2023 for using falsified travel documents. Authorities are weighing competing extradition requests.

If extradited to the United States, Kwon would likely face eight felony charges filed by prosecutors in March 2023 related to fraud at Terraform Labs. In South Korea, he faces an indictment of fraud and violations of capital markets law. Its unclear whether the U.S. or South Korea will win the extradition battle at the time of publication.

Han Chang-joon, Terraform Labs former chief financial officer, was arrested in Montenegro at the same time as Kwon but extradited to South Korea in February. In April 2023, South Korean authorities indicted several individuals associated with Terraform Labs, including co-founder Hyun-seong Shin.