Crypto Mogul Do Kwon’s extradition to the US is approved by Montenegro
After a protracted court struggle, Montenegro agreed to send “cryptocurrency king” Do Kwon to the United States, turning down South Korea’s request.
A South Korean businessman known as the “cryptocurrency king” was extradited to the US by Montenegro on Tuesday.
This step came after Montenegrin authorities acknowledged that the country’s justice ministry earlier this month had ruled in favor of the US extradition request over a rival petition from South Korea.
The creator of the Singapore-based cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, was handed over to FBI agents at the Podgorica Airport border crossing by Montenegrin National Central Bureau of Interpol officers, the police said.
“Today, December 31, 2024, he (Do Kwon) was turned over to the qualified law enforcement authorities of the United States of America and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” the police statement stated.
This development marks the end of a lengthy legal battle that Do Kwon was involved in. Since the United States and South Korea had both requested his extradition, a number of court decisions in Montenegro over the past few months had alternately upheld and rejected his extradition to either nation.
Using fake Costa Rican passports, Do Kwon and another South Korean national were arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 while trying to enter Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Following this, Kwon was imprisoned in Montenegro for using a fake passport.
In the US, Kwon is charged with fraud by federal prosecutors in New York in relation to the $40 billion cryptocurrency collapse of Terraform Labs, which had a major effect on retail investors around the world.
Due to the failure of its digital currency in May 2022, Kwon and five other Terraform employees were sought on charges of financial crimes and fraud.
The purpose of TerraUSD was to prevent excessive price fluctuation by acting as a “stablecoin,” a kind of cryptocurrency based on reliable assets such as the US dollar. The stablecoin fell much below its $1 peg, however, wiping out over $40 billion in market value for owners of TerraUSD and its companion cryptocurrency, Luna.
