Appeal filed against Montenegro court ruling for crypto mogul Kwon's extradition to Korea
Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur, co-founder of Terraform Labs (Terra Luna), Do Kwon, center, is taken to court in Podgorica, June 16, 2023, following his arrest, March 24 at the Montenegrin capital's international airport. A Montenegro appeals court on March 20, approved the extradition of cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon to Korea, where he is wanted over the multi-billion-dollar collapse of the Terra company. For months, Seoul and Washington have been seeking the Korean's extradition for his suspected role in fraud linked to his company's dramatic collapse, which wiped out about $40 billion of investors' money and shook global crypto markets. AFP-Yonhap
Montenegro prosecutors have appealed a recent court ruling for the extradition of disgraced crypto mogul Do Kwon to his home country of Korea to face trial on charges connected to the crash of cryptocurrencies.
Kwon, the co-founder of the cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs, is wanted both by Korea and the United States, where he faces investigation and indictment on charges connected to the crash of the firm's TerraUSD and Luna coins in May 2022. The crash was estimated to have wiped out nearly 50 trillion won ($37 billion) in market value.
Earlier this week, an appeals court in the Balkan country ruled for Kwon's extradition to Korea, upholding a previous decision made by the high court in the country's capital, Podgorica.
On Thursday (local time), Montenegro's top prosecutors office claimed in a statement that the court decisions were in violation of due procedures and said that it has requested the top court to decide whether the procedures behind the court rulings were legal.
The office claimed that the courts reached the extradition rulings irregularly through summary procedures and by overstepping the scope of their authorities, as a decision on extradition pertains to the justice minister.
The office also requested the top court to reverse the lower courts' decisions.
Bloomberg had earlier reported that Kwon's extradition could take place as early as this weekend when the jail term he is serving in Montenegro on charges of using a forged passport expires.
If the top court rules in favor of the top prosecutors office, the final decision on Kwon's extradition will once again be made by Montenegro's justice minister.
Kwon has reportedly been seeking extradition to Korea rather than the U.S., where he could face a sentence of over 100 years in prison for the charges he is facing, far heavier than the estimated maximum 30-year prison term in his home country.
He was captured at an airport in Montenegro in March last year when he was reportedly trying to board a plane bound for the United Arab Emirates on a forged passport. He had been on the loose after fleeing Korea amid a probe in connection with the crypto debacle.
TerraUSD was designed as a stablecoin, pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar. However, holders of TerraUSD and Luna lost most of their assets after the stablecoin plunged far below its $1 peg. (Yonhap)