Montenegro to finalize Do Kwon’s extradition by Oct. 20

The extradition of Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs and crypto fugitive, may be finalized as soon as Sunday, Oct. 19, according to local media reports from Montenegro.

Montenegro’s Minister of Justice, Bojan Božović, confirmed on Oct. 17 that the government has decided where to extradite Kwon. He indicated that the necessary documents would likely be signed by the weekend. While Kwon’s removal from Montenegro appears imminent, the destination of his extradition remains unclear.

Kwon was once a leading figure in the crypto world, launching the Terra blockchain and its tokens, TerraLuna and TerraUSD. However, in May 2022, Terra’s collapse wiped out $60 billion in value, severely impacting both retail and institutional investors. The fallout contributed to a broader crypto market crisis, including the bankruptcies of Three Arrows Capital and FTX, which led to increased scrutiny on Kwon.

After fleeing authorities, Kwon was arrested in Podgorica, Montenegro, in March 2023, with forged travel documents as he attempted to board a flight to the United Arab Emirates. Kwon had likely been hiding in Serbia before attempting to cross into the Middle East.

Following his arrest, Kwon faced a battle for extradition between South Korea and the U.S., each country initially winning the right to have him extradited. However, these rulings were contested and overturned in court. Eventually, Kwon was released from jail under supervision while awaiting the final decision from Montenegro’s Ministry of Justice.

Meanwhile, Terraform Labs reached a $4.47 billion settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the company agreed to dissolve its operations and liquidate assets.