Zinger Key Points
- The decision follows prolonged legal disputes and competing extradition requests from South Korea and the U.S.
- Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, faces charges tied to the collapse of TerraUSD and Luna, impacting global investors.
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Montenegro’s Minister of Justice, Bojan Božović on Friday authorized the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to the United States, concluding months of legal wrangling over competing extradition requests from the U.S. and South Korea.
What Happened: The ruling follows a decision earlier this week by Montenegro's Constitutional Court, which denied Kwon's appeal against a September Supreme Court decision.
That decision nullified his transfer to South Korea and delegated the final extradition decision to the justice minister.
In its announcement, the Ministry of Justice stated that it had reviewed all relevant factors, including the gravity of the alleged offenses, the location where the crimes were committed and the sequence of extradition requests.
Other considerations included Kwon's nationality and the potential for subsequent extradition to another country.
Kwon is a central figure in the 2022 collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD USTC/USD and its sister cryptocurrency Luna LUNC/USD, which caused billions of dollars in losses to investors globally.
The incident led to a coordinated international manhunt involving South Korean authorities, U.S. prosecutors and Interpol.
The crypto executive was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for attempting to travel with forged documents.
Also Read: Crypto Industry Anticipates Policy Overhaul Under Trump Administration
Why It Matters: Since his release from prison earlier this year, Kwon has faced an extradition stalemate as courts weighed requests from the U.S. and South Korea.
The High Court in Montenegro initially ruled in February 2024 to extradite Kwon to the U.S. to face charges related to the Terra-Luna collapse.
However, that decision was reversed in March, favoring extradition to South Korea instead. Months of legal appeals and inconsistent rulings followed, further delaying the process.
Kwon's legal team had pushed for extradition to his home country of South Korea, where financial criminals typically face maximum sentences ranging from 30 to 40 years.
In contrast, the U.S. legal system allows for consecutive sentencing, potentially resulting in significantly longer prison terms.
The extradition saga has also sparked political controversies in Montenegro.
Former Justice Minister Andrej Milovic accused Prime Minister Milojko Spajić of influencing the extradition process in favor of South Korea due to alleged financial connections with Kwon.
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