The Montenegrin court has nullified the extradition approval for Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, to either the United States or South Korea.
In an official announcement on December 19, the Montenegro Court of Appeal revealed that on December 14, it overturned the previous decision made by the Podgorica High Court which had greenlighted Kwon's extradition.
The initial ruling by the Podgorica High Court, determining the legal conditions for Kwon's extradition, had placed the ultimate decision in the hands of the Montenegrin Minister of Justice in November 2023.
The latest judgment from the Court of Appeal noted a successful appeal by Kwon's defense team, prompting the case to be remanded to the Podgorica Basic Court for a retrial. The Court of Appeal's panel highlighted significant violations of the Montenegrin Criminal Procedure Code in the prior Podgorica High Court ruling, stating, "The decision lacked essential facts and provided unclear reasons, leading to its annulment."
Kwon, once the co-founder and former CEO of Terraform Labs, was associated with the Terra blockchain, renowned for its Terra stablecoin and accompanying Luna token, which encountered a collapse in May 2022. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that Terraform Labs, under Kwon's direction, engaged in a fraudulent scheme resulting in a market value loss of at least $40 billion.
Kwon's arrest in Montenegro in March 2023, while attempting to depart the country using falsified travel documents, prompted extradition requests from both the United States and South Korea. Prosecutors in both nations signaled that Kwon might face multiple prison sentences if extradited.
Another Terraform co-founder, Daniel Shin, faced similar accusations of defrauding investors. During the trial at the Southern District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Shin asserted that he had departed Terraform in 2020 for business motives and disassociated himself from the collapse that occurred in October 2023.
