Disgraced TerraForm Founder Do Kwon is expected to be extradited from Montenegro to South Korea to be charged after his involvement in the multi-billion dollar collapse of the cryptocurrency company.
Despite this, the US government is seeking to block the extradition to Do Kwon’s native South Korea and have him extradited to the US to face charges placed on him by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
An SEC statement read: “Terraform and Kwon repeatedly misled and deceived investors that a popular Korean mobile payment application used the Terra blockchain to settle transactions that would accrue value to LUNA.”
On Thursday, Goran Rodic, Do Kwon’s Attorney, revealed to CoinDesk that the former crypto CEO had been ordered by a Montenegro Court that he will be extradited to South Korea.
Do Kwon was originally meant to be heading to the US to face the charges placed on him in the country. However, Montenegrin officials overturned this decision and now the US government is looking to revert back.
The US Justice Department stated: “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.”
Do Kwon, after several months on the run fleeing from authorities in South Korea, was arrested at Podgorica Airport in March 2023 by Montenegrin police.
The South Korean police force issued an arrest warrant on Do Kwon after he was primarily involved in the collapse of TerraForm’s LUNA and USD tokens which plummeted their values by almost 100% during May 2022.
Investors, in total, lost upwards of $40bn worldwide and the collapse set about a crash in the crypto market that it is only just recovering from.
