- Do Kwon was arrested with forged documents at Podgorica Airport in March
- He faces charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy
- Montenegrin minister of justice will decide on extradition destination
The High Court in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, announced intentions to extradite fallen cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs. Both his home country of South Korea and the United States want him. The decision where he will be extradited to has not been made, Reuters reported.
He was arrested with fake passports
Do Kwon was arrested with forged documents at Podgorica Airport in March. He is facing multibillion-dollar fraud charges in the US. Charges against him include commodities fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to defraud and engage in market manipulation.
Do Kwon and Han Chang-joon, Terraform Labs' former finance officer, were arrested as they tried to board a flight to Dubai. After they were detained, police found fake Costa Rican passports, a separate set of Belgian passports, laptop computers and other devices in their luggage.
Bail of EUR 800K denied
The Montenegrin court refused to accept bail of 800,000 euros for the two former executives in May with the argument that there was no guarantee they wouldn’t flee after being released.
Do Kwon and Han Chang-joon denied all charges pressed by prosecutors in Montenegro at a hearing in May. When the US fraud charges were announced, Kwon's lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. Later, a Terraform spokesperson stated the company would fight the US charges, calling them "misguided and deeply flawed."
Justice minister with final say on extradition destination
On Friday, the High Court in Podgorica announced that Do Kwon was willing to be extradited to South Korea under a shortened procedure. The Montenegrin minister of justice will have the final say as to which country he will ultimately be handed over to.
Do Kwon is currently doing time in Montenegro for document forgery. His company, Terraform Labs, issued the LUNA token and the stablecoin TerraUSD. The stablecoin’s value plummeted in May 2022, dragging LUNA and much of the cryptocurrency market down with it.
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