Do Kwon’s Extradition from Montenegro Postponed Yet Again

Last week, the appellate court in a Balkan nation made a decision that appeared final, ordering the extradition of Kwon back to South Korea. However, much like previous extradition rulings concerning Kwon, this one has been delayed by Montenegro’s Supreme Court following a request from the country’s chief prosecutor, Andrej Milović, as reported in local media.

It came as a surprise that Montenegro has become a focal point in an international legal dispute regarding Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs. Both South Korea and the United States are seeking to prosecute Kwon on both civil and criminal charges connected to the collapse of the Terra/LUNA system worth approximately $40 billion in May 2022.

As an analyst, I find myself in a complex situation, as two nations have submitted contradictory extradition petitions concerning Kwon, who has been detained in Montenegro since my last update in March 2023. This arrest followed his apprehension using a counterfeit Costa Rican passport during his escape route towards Dubai.

As an analyst, I find myself delving into the case of Kwon, who expresses his preference for being tried in South Korea, citing a perceived leniency in penalties for financial crimes compared to the U.S. Last year, he managed to thwart earlier attempts at extradition. However, a division of opinion appears within the South Korean judicial system, as well as among prosecutors and government officials, regarding which request to grant.

In response to CoinDesk’s inquiries, Goran Radić, defense attorney for Montenegrin defendant Do-Hyun Kwon, did not provide comments before deadline. However, he spoke with Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti and called the repeated postponements and seven court rulings in Kwon’s case a “judicial shame.” Radic also alleged that Prosecutor Milović made an unlawful private pledge to extradite Kwon to the U.S., despite South Korea being the first to issue an extradition request.

It was previously reported by Bloomberg that the current Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic, has made personal investments in Terraform Labs.