Do Kwon to Be Extradited to South Korea After March 23, Lawyer Says

Do Kwon, a co-founder of Terraform Labs, is likely to be extradited to South Korea after March 23 following a Thursday decision from a Montenegro high court, his attorney told CoinDesk.

In South Korea, Kwon will face criminal charges concerning the May 2022 collapse of his multibillion-dollar crypto enterprise. The South Korean national successfully appealed an earlier ruling by the same court, which approved his extradition to the U.S.

Following Terra’s collapse, Kwon managed to evade South Korean authorities until he was arrested last year in Montenegro while attempting to travel with faked documents. Kwon was arrested alongside former Terra executive Han Chang-joon, who was extradited to South Korea in February.

Kwon will remain in Montenegro, serving a four-month sentence for possession of falsified documents. Following the sentence, he will likely be sent to South Korea, Kwon’s Montenegrin attorney Goran Rodic told CoinDesk in an email.

“The decision agrees with the evidence in the case files,” Rodic said. “Kwon finishes serving his sentence on March 23 and will be extradited after that. That’s all I can say now.”

Kwon successfully challenged multiple high court decisions on his extradition before Thursday’s ruling. Rodic did not say if Kwon will be appealing this most recent decision.

The U.S. and South Korea both requested Kwon’s extradition. In the U.S., Kwon faces a securities fraud trial.

Read more: Do Kwon Tries to Delay SEC’s Terraform Trial so He Can Attend

UPDATE (March 7, 15:42 UTC): Adds comments from Kwon’s attorney and details throughout.

Amitoj Singh contributed reporting.