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Highlights
- US Justice Department contests Do Kwon extradition to South Korea citing bilateral agreement with Montenegro.
- South Korean Ministry says they have yet to receive official notification form Montenegro.
- Industry lawyers also expressed skepticism on Do Kwon extradition to South Korea.
In light of Montenegro’s High Court decision to extradite former cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon to South Korea, US prosecutors are steadfast in their pursuit of his extradition. Do Kwon, the disgraced founder of Terra, faces charges connected to the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin in 2022. In a statement on Thursday, March 7, the US Justice Department said:
“The United States continues to seek Kwon’s extradition in accordance with relevant international and bilateral agreements and Montenegrin law. The United States appreciates the cooperation of the Montenegrin authorities in ensuring that all individuals are subject to the rule of law.”
South Korea Yet to Receive Official Ruling From Montenegro
The court’s decision marks the latest development in the legal saga of Terraform Labs co-founder, who had been a fugitive from South Korean charges before his arrest in Montenegro in March 2023 for traveling with a fake passport. Kwon’s arrest triggered competing extradition requests from prosecutors in Seoul and New York.
The ruling represents a victory for Kwon, whose legal team has expressed a preference for him to be extradited to South Korea. Meanwhile, in the US, another prominent figure in the crypto world, Sam Bankman-Fried, faces the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of fraud in New York in November. Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of FTX, was prosecuted by the Manhattan US attorney’s office, which also indicted Kwon on fraud charges.
South Korea’s Justice Ministry stated that they have not yet received official notification from Montenegro. They added that they will take appropriate action in collaboration with Montenegrin authorities once the paperwork is received.
Crypto Lawyers Raise Concerns About Do Kwon Extradition to South Korea
In response to the decision to extradite former cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon to South Korea, some crypto industry lawyers have expressed skepticism. Terrence Yang, a managing director at Swan Bitcoin and former counsel at Merrill Lynch, described the decision as “a travesty.” Yang emphasized that the US has effectively prosecuted individuals involved in significant cryptocurrency collapses, such as FTX.
“The US probably has the largest number of victims by both number and dollar amount,” Yang stated. “It seems a bit ridiculous for the Montenegro court to extradite Do Kwon to South Korea, where he might get acquitted or receive a comically light sentence, as opposed to the United States.”
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