A court battle to bring back a disgraced crypto mogul, Do Kwon, to South Korea has finally ended with a ruling from the Appellate Court of Montenegro on Thursday. The decision confirms that Kwon, founder of the failed Terra blockchain, will be extradited to South Korea for prosecution.
This ruling upholds a previous decision made by the High Court of Podgorica, which also favored sending Kwon back to his home country over the United States, which had also requested his extradition. According to a statement on the Podgorica court’s website, there was no appeal against this decision.
Experts believe that this outcome is a win for Kwon, as the consequences in the U.S. could have been much harsher for the billionaire. Terrence Yang, Managing Director at Swan Bitcoin, stated earlier this year that the U.S. likely has the largest number of victims in terms of both the number of people affected and the financial losses incurred.
Following the recent ruling, Kwon’s lawyer, Gordin Rodic, mentioned to Bloomberg that Montenegro will facilitate Kwon’s extradition to South Korea with the help of Interpol as soon as possible. Kwon, who was released on bail in March, has been in limbo as his fate has been debated in Montenegro’s courts.
Initially, the U.S. was set to receive Kwon, but it was later revealed that South Korea had made the first request for his extradition. Despite several back-and-forth court decisions, the final say lies with Montenegro’s Minister of Justice, Andrej Milovic.
The collapse of the Terra blockchain in May 2022 resulted in losses of $44 billion for investors holding TerraUSD (UST) tokens and LUNA tokens. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Kwon and Terraform Labs, seeking $5.3 billion in fines for the damages caused to investors.
In light of these events, it is essential for individuals involved in the cryptocurrency space to exercise caution and conduct thorough research before investing in any projects or platforms. The volatile nature of the industry can lead to significant financial losses if proper due diligence is not undertaken.