Montenegro’s appeals court canceled Do Kwon’s extradition to South Korea or the United States for the second time.
Terraform Labs founder Dokwon won his appeal to overturn Montenegro’s High Court’s decision to extradite him to the country. The appeals court noted there were inconsistencies in initially ordering his deportation to the United States or his native South Korea.
According to the appeals court, Montenegro’s High Court did not provide concise reasons for approving Kwon’s extradition. Additionally, the order in which the requests from both countries arrived is unclear, and the facts have not been handled entirely in accordance with local law.
Do-Kwon’s lawyer, Goran Roddick, previously argued that political pressure from foreign governments influenced the extradition process.
Mr. Kwon won his appeal to overturn the High Court’s ruling that approved his extradition in December last year. But the same court again ruled on December 29 that the legal argument for his extradition was sound. It was the second time that Montenegro’s High Court has reaffirmed the ruling, prompting another appeal by Kwon and his legal advisers.
The case has now been referred to the High Court for reconsideration.
After being arrested and imprisoned in Montenegro, Kwon was extradited to Korean and American authorities over several months. In March 2023, the former Terra CEO was detained at Podgorica Airport with falsified travel documents.
Kwon, who was found guilty of passport forgery, was sentenced to four months in a Balkan prison, with his sentence extended while local authorities considered his extradition. This comes after Kwon was declared an international fugitive by Interpol in connection with the billion-dollar collapse of Terra, the blockchain ecosystem he created.
Kwon is likely to be arrested and face criminal charges along with former Terraform Labs CFO Han Chang-jun, who was extradited to South Korea.