- Montenegro’s Court of Appeal rejected Do Kwon’s appeal against his impending extradition to South Korea.
- Mr. Kwon was arrested last year after Terra Luna and Terra Luna’s stablecoin UST went bankrupt in 2022.
Mr. Do Kwon, who was indicted on charges of involvement in the Terra sinking incident, is now expected to be extradited to Korea.
Montenegro court rejects Kwon’s appeal
Today, the Montenegrin Court of Appeal rejected Kwon’s appeal seeking an order to cancel his extradition to South Korea. The appeals court said its ruling is final, according to a March 20 announcement.
He will not go to the United States, nor will he stay in Montenegro, where he will be arrested in 2023.
Rather, Mr. Kwon will now be deported to South Korea and face criminal charges in connection with the collapse of Terra LUNA and the algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD (UST).
The $40 billion collapse caused a massive contagion across cryptocurrencies via cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. 3AC caused major damage, meaning more losses for investors across the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Mr. Kwon has been detained in Montenegro since his arrest in May last year. Montenegro’s High Court approved his extradition in November, and last month’s decision to deport him to the United States was overturned.
Both the U.S. and South Korea want to take over, and South Korea has recently been seeking help from Interpol.
Crypto Boss in Trouble
The former CEO of Terraform Labs, who is wanted for this incident, is headed to Korea. He is one of several former cryptocurrency bosses to be indicted in the past two years.
FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty by a jury in early November. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28, and U.S. prosecutors had sought 40 to 50 years in prison.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws last year and is awaiting sentencing in the United States.