Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, will reportedly remain in Montenegro until February, as he awaits potential extradition to the United States or South Korea.
A recent report from Bloomberg on Dec. 12 indicated that authorities in the U.S. and South Korea have requested Montenegrin officials to extend Kwon’s custody. This extension is set to follow the end of his four-month imprisonment term, which he served for using falsified travel documents after being arrested in Montenegro in March.
Kwon, a South Korean citizen who was residing in Singapore, faces various charges in both the U.S. and South Korea concerning his involvement in the Terra cryptocurrency collapse. As per a Dec. 7 Wall Street Journal report, the U.S. is likely to gain custody of Kwon before South Korea, with both nations having active extradition requests.
Upon extradition to the U.S., Kwon would confront eight criminal charges, including commodities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud and manipulate the market, all related to his role at Terraform Labs. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also accused Kwon of deceiving investors in cryptocurrency-related schemes.
The collapse of Terra in May 2022, marked by the detachment of TerraUSD (UST) from the U.S. dollar, triggered a significant downturn in the cryptocurrency market. This event led to the bankruptcy of several firms, including Voyager Digital, BlockFi, Celsius Network, and FTX.