South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon will soon be extradited to the United States from Montenegro. This follows a drawn-out legal battle regarding the collapse of his two digital tokens, TerraUSD and Luna, which resulted in a staggering $40 billion loss for investors and turmoil within the global crypto market.
The extradition request faced hurdles since Montenegro lacks formal treaties with either the U.S. or South Korea, leading to extensive court debates. However, Montenegro's Minister of Justice Bojan Bozovic approved the U.S. request, stating that Kwon had voluntarily agreed to his extradition.
In February 2023, U.S. regulators charged Kwon and his company, Terraform Labs, with orchestrating a massive securities fraud scheme. Officials alleged that Kwon misrepresented the stability and potential value of both Luna and TerraUSD, misleading many investors in the process. The tokens, once seen as lucrative investments, plummeted in value in May 2022, igniting a wider sell-off in the cryptocurrency space.
Kwon had previously evaded authorities, being arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 while attempting to catch a flight to Dubai. This was after fleeing Singapore, where he was based before the collapse. In June, Kwon received a four-month jail sentence in Montenegro for document forgery. His former finance officer, Hon Chang-joon, has already been extradited to South Korea after serving time for fraud.
