A Montenegrin court has upheld the extradition of the founder of Terraform Labs, paving the way for his potential transfer to either the United States or South Korea.
This decision comes as both countries have requested his extradition following his involvement in the collapse of the TerraUSD and Luna tokens.
Double trouble
Montenegro’s Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed Kwon’s appeal against his extradition, and this ruling allows Justice Minister Bojan Božović to decide whether Kwon will be sent to the U.S. or South Korea.
Local reports suggest that the Montenegrin government is leaning towards extraditing him to the United States.
Kwon’s legal troubles began when he was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 while trying to board a flight with forged travel documents, and since then, he has been in custody, and his case has drawn considerable international attention.
Justice
In its announcement, the Montenegrin court stated that the extradition process was fair and didn’t infringe on Kwon’s rights, as Kwon had consented to extradition during earlier hearings, which may have influenced the court’s decision.
Justice Minister Božović commented on the public interest surrounding Kwon’s case, stating that he would make a decision after considering the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
Billions
Kwon is wanted in both countries for his role in the Terra collapse, which wiped out around $60 billion and left many investors, both retail and institutional, reeling.
The U.S. has been particularly aggressive in pursuing Kwon, recently fining him $4.5 billion after a civil lawsuit from the SEC.
South Korea initially had priority for extradition, but new developments may shift that balance.
Former Justice Minister Andrej Milović suggested that Prime Minister Milojko Spajić might have leveraged Kwon’s extradition as part of a deal involving airport concessions with South Korea.
