Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, who has been residing in Montenegro since his arrest in March 2023, is reportedly set to be extradited to the United States to face charges related to financial fraud.
The decision comes after the Podgorica High Court announced that it will honor the US prosecution’s request to try Do Kwon for criminal offenses committed in the field of financial operations.
Montenegrin Court Rejects South Korea’s Extradition Request
The Montenegrin news outlet Pobjeda reported on Wednesday that the court rejected South Korea’s extradition request, paving the way for Do Kwon’s extradition to the United States.
The Court of Appeal intervened and directed the High Court to determine whether Do Kwon should be extradited to South Korea or the United States, as requested by the respective countries.
Previously, the High Court had acknowledged that the conditions for Do Kwon’s extradition were satisfied and left the decision to the Minister of Justice, Andrej Milović, to prioritize the requesting countries.
However, the Court of Appeal clarified that the minister’s role is limited to regular extradition proceedings, and since Do Kwon had consented to extradition in an expedited procedure, the decision rests with the countries seeking his extradition.
Goran Rodić, Do Kwon’s defense attorney, argued that legal reasons, including the European Convention on Extradition, the bilateral agreement with the United States, and the Montenegrin Law on International Legal Assistance, strongly support Do Kwon’s extradition to South Korea.
In contrast, Justice Minister Andrej Milović stated that the decision is political, emphasizing the importance of the United States as Montenegro’s main foreign policy partner.
Milović expressed intentions to expedite the signing of a bilateral extradition agreement with the US to establish a legal framework for future extraditions.
Extradition Looms For Do Kwon
Do Kwon and his associate Hon Chand Jun were apprehended on March 23 last year at Podgorica airport while attempting to travel to Dubai using counterfeit Costa Rican passports. Subsequently, Belgian travel documents were also discovered in their possession.
During the court proceedings at the Basic Court in Podgorica for document falsification charges, Do Kwon and Hon Chand Jun claimed that they had acquired Costa Rican and Belgian passports through an agency in Singapore and had used them for international travel. They argued that they were unaware of any discrepancies in the passports’ authenticity at the time of acquisition.
Do Kwon mentioned that shortly after receiving the Belgian passports, he and his associate realized the inaccuracies in the names and dates of birth, rendering them unusable.
The Terraform Labs’ co-founder further explained that they had initially sought Granada passports alongside the Belgian ones, but their application was denied. As a result, they placed trust in the agency due to the successful approval of their Costa Rican passport application.
Hon Chand Jun was extradited to South Korea ten days ago, while Do Kwon is awaiting extradition to the United States, the date of which has not been disclosed by the officials overseeing the case.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
