Montenegro’s top prosecutor contests Do Kwon’s South Korea extradition

Montenegro’s Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office pushed back against the High Court’s decision to extradite Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, to his native South Korea instead of the U.S., according to a translation of its statement released on Thursday.  

The prosecutor’s office claimed that the court exceeded the limits of its powers by conducting an “abbreviated” legal procedure in making Kwon’s extradition decision, a move it stated falls within the authority of the Ministry of Justice. The statement referred to the former Terraform leader by his initials, K.D.H., which correspond to his full name, Kwon Do-hyeong.

On Wednesday, the Balkan country’s Appellate Court confirmed the High Court’s decision to extradite Kwon to South Korea, as it rejected Kwon’s latest appeal. 

Between South Korea and the U.S., Kwon and his lawyers have reportedly preferred his home country, where the maximum sentence for financial criminals typically ranges from 30 to 40 years. In contrast, the U.S. follows a principle where the court can impose consecutive sentences for each crime of which a defendant is found guilty.

The Crash

Terraform Labs’ algorithmic stablecoin Terra and sister cryptocurrency Luna crashed in May 2022, wiping out over $40 billion worth of market capitalization in a matter of days. Since then, U.S. and South Korean authorities have sought Kwon and Terraform Labs on charges including fraud and violations of securities laws.

Kwon, who has been a fugitive with an Interpol Red Notice issued for his arrest, was apprehended in Montenegro last March for attempting to travel with fake documents.