The authorities in Montenegro released the co-fonder of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, from prison last Saturday as his extradition to South Korea was scrapped by the country’s Supreme Court, according to a Bloomberg report. However, he cannot leave Montenegro as his passport has been held back.
“We released Do Kwon from prison as his regular prison term for traveling with fake papers ended,” the Director of Montenegro, where Kwon was held, told the publication.
“Since he is a foreign citizen and his documents are withheld, he was taken for an interview to the police directorate for foreigners, and they will deal with him further.”
The release came a day after the Balkan country’s Supreme Court suspended a lower court’s earlier decision for his extradition to South Korea, the native country of Kwon. The top court’s order came after the top prosecutor in the Balkan country challenged the previous lower court order, showing procedural errors.
Crypto Mogul to a Fugitive
Kwon was known for building Terraform Labs. However, the two cryptocurrencies of the project, TerraUSD and Luna, collapsed in 2022, resulting in the wipeout of about $37 billion in value. The collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin also triggered the shuttering and collapse of several other cryptocurrency companies.
Kwon disappeared immediately from public sight after the collapse of his company but was arrested in Montenegro last year while traveling with fake travel documents. Both South Korea and the United States have been trying to extradite him after his arrest. Although South Korea did not reveal the charges he would face, the US prosecutors are ready to slap eight counts of charges against him.
Further, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against Terraform Labs and Kwon.
Now, with the Montenegro Supreme Court’s order, the possibility of extraditing Kwon to the US has again been revived.
The authorities in Montenegro released the co-fonder of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, from prison last Saturday as his extradition to South Korea was scrapped by the country’s Supreme Court, according to a Bloomberg report. However, he cannot leave Montenegro as his passport has been held back.
“We released Do Kwon from prison as his regular prison term for traveling with fake papers ended,” the Director of Montenegro, where Kwon was held, told the publication.
“Since he is a foreign citizen and his documents are withheld, he was taken for an interview to the police directorate for foreigners, and they will deal with him further.”
The release came a day after the Balkan country’s Supreme Court suspended a lower court’s earlier decision for his extradition to South Korea, the native country of Kwon. The top court’s order came after the top prosecutor in the Balkan country challenged the previous lower court order, showing procedural errors.
Crypto Mogul to a Fugitive
Kwon was known for building Terraform Labs. However, the two cryptocurrencies of the project, TerraUSD and Luna, collapsed in 2022, resulting in the wipeout of about $37 billion in value. The collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin also triggered the shuttering and collapse of several other cryptocurrency companies.
Kwon disappeared immediately from public sight after the collapse of his company but was arrested in Montenegro last year while traveling with fake travel documents. Both South Korea and the United States have been trying to extradite him after his arrest. Although South Korea did not reveal the charges he would face, the US prosecutors are ready to slap eight counts of charges against him.
Further, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against Terraform Labs and Kwon.
Now, with the Montenegro Supreme Court’s order, the possibility of extraditing Kwon to the US has again been revived.