U.S. And South Korea Seek Do Kwon’s Extradition From Montenegro

• The United States and South Korea have both requested the extradition of Do Kwon. 
• Montenegro’s Justice Minister revealed the extradition requests for the Terra founder in a press conference earlier today. 
• Minister Kovac clarified that the legal proceedings in Montenegro will be given priority over extradition. 

The United States and South Korea are both seeking the extradition of Do Kwon, the man behind Terraform Labs, whose crash wiped out $40 billion from the crypto market last year. News of the extradition requests was shared by Marko Kovac, the Justice Minister of Montenegro, where Kwon is currently detained. 

Priority will be given to Do Kwon’s court proceedings in Montenegro

In a press conference earlier today, Justice Minister Kovac revealed the extradition requests made by the U.S. and South Korea. According to the Minister, no official extradition requests had been received from Singapore, a country that previously requested Do Kwon’s detention. Minster Kovac added that the legal proceedings in Montenegro will be given priority over any foreign extradition requests. 

Primacy is given to the court proceedings led in Montenegro. If they are convicted for the criminal offense of falsifying identification documents, only after they served their prison sentence is it expected that they will be extradited.” 

Marko Kovac, the Justice Minister of Montenegro

South Korea’s basis for extradition lies in Do Kwon’s nationality as well as an international arrest warrant issued by law enforcement agencies in his home country. Meanwhile, the United States has claimed jurisdiction based on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s argument that American investors were victims of the fraud perpetrated by Kwon. 

The ultimate decision regarding Do Kwon’s extradition will rest with Montenegro’s high court, which will reportedly make the decision based on several factors including the severity of the Terra founder’s offenses, location and time of said offenses, and the chronology of extradition requests, among several other factors. The Justice Minister’s press conference comes almost a week after Kwon was arrested at Montenegro’s Podgorica airport, along with his business associate Han Chang Joon, for forging their identification documents. Minister Kovac added that the pair’s detention period had been extended to 30 days.