Montenegro halts Do Kwon’s extradition again ahead of appeal ruling

The Constitutional Court of Montenegro suspended the extradition of former Terraform Labs founder and CEO Do Kwon on Oct. 18, according to local press reports. A day earlier, the Montenegrin Justice Ministry had said a decision on Kwon’s extradition had been made and it promised to make the decision public on Oct. 20.

Courts need to coordinate

The decision on Kwon’s extradition, including Kwon’s destination, was entrusted to the Justice Ministry by the Supreme Court in September. Both the United States and South Korea have requested his extradition.

The Constitutional Court had not informed the ministry of the suspension of that judgment until the last minute, the ministry said, adding:

“That’s why we ask the Constitutional Court to act in this case as soon as possible and inform us about it without delay in the future.” 

The court said it halted the extradition process until it rules on Kwon’s appeal.

Related: Terraform Labs may close products, services in bankruptcy wind-down

Appeals and indecision 

Kwon and former Terraform Labs chief financial officer Han Chang-joon were arrested at the airport in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica in March 2023. They were found guilty of using false passports and sentenced to four months in prison in Montenegro. 

Kwon and Han had been living in Serbia, where Kwon had set up a business, even though an Interpol “Red Notice” for his arrest had been issued in South Korea. 

The High Court of Podgorica approved Kwon’s extradition in November 2023, without deciding where he would be extradited to. A series of appeals and legal maneuvers have prevented his extradition so far. Han was extradited to South Korea in February 2024.

Kwon was found liable for defrauding investors in a civil case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in April. It is thought that Kwon may have retained access to his crypto wallets, as one associated with him moved 1,075 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $62 million, in September. 

Kwon is not the only crypto fugitive who has found refuge in Montenegro. Roman Ziemian, co-creator of the allegedly fraudulent FuturoCoin (FTO) token, was arrested in Podgorica in August. There are outstanding warrants for Ziemian’s arrest in Poland and the United States.

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