Montenegro Court Ends Legal Battle Over TerraForm Labs Founder’s Extradition

Counsel for TerraForm Labs Founder Says U.S. Can’t Appeal Decision Ordering Do Kwon’s Extradition to South Korea.

This comes after the court yesterday rejected an appeal by Kwon to reverse the decision for his extradition to South Korea.

Earlier this month, a federal court in Montenegro had ordered that Kwon be extradited to South Korea, where he would face eight felony charges following the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in 2022.

U.S. and South Korea Seek Kwon’s Extradition

It bears mentioning that both the United States and South Korea have been seeking Kwon’s extradition since he was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023.

In February, a Montenegrin federal court chose the United States as the country to which Kwon would be extradited to face the criminal charges. However, his lawyers successfully appealed this decision, and the court named South Korea the country to which the Terra founder would be extradited.

Not satisfied with the decision, Kwon’s lawyers approached the Montenegrin appeals court to reverse the ruling, which approved his extradition to South Korea.

In an official notice yesterday, the court rejected Kwon’s appeal and affirmed the decision to have him extradited to South Korea. The panel of the appellate court noted that the federal court correctly established that South Korea’s extradition request came before the United States.

U.S. and Kwon Can’t Appeal Decision

Following the latest ruling, Kwon’s lawyer, Goran Rodic, stated that his client’s extradition case has been finally settled, adding that neither he nor the United States can appeal the decision.

At press time, there was no official timeline for Kwon’s extradition to South Korea. Notably, the crypto entrepreneur would face multiple charges in South Korea following his extradition, as authorities believe that he perpetrated most crimes in the country.

Do Kwon’s Ordeal

Kwon has been in the news for over a year after his crypto enterprise collapsed in May 2022. Shortly after the project collapsed, he went into hiding and moved from Serbia to Montenegro.

His attempt to travel to Dubai from Montenegro ended in futility as authorities in the country arrested him with falsified travel documents. Since his arrest, the U.S. and South Korea have been battling legally to have him extradited to their countries.

Now that the extradition case is settled and Kwon is set to be extradited to South Korea, there is a likelihood that the U.S. will move on with the charges against the Terra founder.