Do Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro to the US revoked on appeal

The Montenegro Court of Appeals has revoked the extradition of Do Kwon to the U.S., accepting the appeal of the Terraform Labs co-founder’s defense attorneys and annulling the decision by the country’s High Court on Feb. 20.

The Appeals Court again cited issues in the process, particularly the lack of clear reasoning and facts in the High Court’s decision surrounding the order of extradition requests, constituting grounds for revocation, according to a statement on Tuesday.

Do Kwon previously won appeals on Dec. 14 and Feb. 8 regarding his extradition to the U.S. or South Korea. The country's High Court again decided that the extradition requests were valid, and Do Kwon subsequently re-appealed.

This latest decision follows local media reports from Feb. 21 that the High Court decided to extradite Do Kwon to the U.S. and rejected South Korea’s request. 

The case will now return to the first-instance court to be reconsidered.

Terra ecosystem collapse and SEC charges

Do Kwon’s extradition has been sought for charges related to financial crimes in the U.S. and South Korea, stemming from the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022 — which wiped out some $40 billion of investor wealth in a few days.

Do Kwon was initially arrested in Montenegro last March, charged with using a fake passport in an attempt to leave the country, and was sentenced to four months in November. 

Last week, The Block reported that Do Kwon will likely miss the start of his U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fraud trial on March 25 amid the delay in his extradition.