Do Kwon, the co-founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs, is finally heading to the US to face trial. After a long legal battle between the US and South Korea, Montenegro decided to send him to America.
The Handoff
On New Year’s Eve, Montenegrin authorities handed Do Kwon over to the FBI. The Montenegrin Justice Minister signed the extradition order, ending a year-long tug-of-war between the two countries. The US wanted him for “conspiracy to commit fraud.”
The Legal Battle
Both the US and South Korea wanted Do Kwon. The Montenegrin government considered both requests carefully before deciding to send him to the US. This decision apparently came down to which country’s legal criteria were better met. Do Kwon’s lawyers aren’t happy about this and are planning to appeal the decision.
Do Kwon’s Time in Montenegro
Do Kwon spent over a year and a half in Montenegrin custody. He was initially arrested for trying to use fake travel documents. He’d been on the run for months after the Terraform Labs collapse, one of the biggest crypto crashes ever, wiping out around $50 billion. He served a prison sentence in Montenegro before being transferred to an immigration center to await the extradition decision.
