Montenegro Court Rejects Do Kwon Extradition Over Procedural Flaws

The Montenegro Court of Appeals has retracted its prior agreement to allow the extradition of former TerraForm Labs CEO, Do Kwon, to the United States. 

The court's decision, communicated through an official statement, cited "significant violations" in the original extradition decision made by the High Court of Podgorica in early December.

Do Kwon's legal journey began with an initial decision to extradite him in early December. However, his legal team filed an appeal shortly after, leading to his temporary stay in Montenegro while the appellate court reviewed the case. The Court of Appeals determined that the initial decision had crucial flaws, deeming it "incomprehensible" with unclear reasons and lacking decisive facts.

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Procedural Issues and Legal Grounds

The court highlighted a procedural misstep by the lower court, emphasizing that it ignored the order of arrival of extradition requests. The statement hinted that South Korea had sought extradition before the U.S., raising questions about the sequence of requests.

With this revocation, the case is set to return to the first-instance court for reconsideration. The extradition sought by the U.S. and South Korea was related to financial crimes, connected to the multi-billion dollar collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022.

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Kwon's Legal Odyssey in Montenegro and Beyond

Do Kwon's legal troubles in Montenegro date back to his arrest last March, initially charged with attempting to leave the country using a fake passport. He secured release on bail in May, but subsequent legal proceedings resulted in a four-month prison sentence in June for document forgery. In November, Kwon lost his appeal and received his final sentence.

On the international front, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S. filed a lawsuit against Kwon, accusing him of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar crypto securities fraud. The Southern District of New York's U.S. Attorney's Office also brought forward criminal charges linked to the collapse of the Terraform Labs stablecoin, TerraUSD (TUSD).