PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegro extradited a South Korean mogul referred to as “the cryptocurrency king” to the United States on Tuesday. This decision came after Montenegro’s justice ministry accepted a U.S. request earlier this month, while rejecting a plea from South Korea, according to authorities in the Balkan country.
Police confirmed that officials from the National Central Bureau of Interpol in Montenegro transferred Do Kwon, the founder of the Singapore-based crypto firm Terraform Labs, to FBI officers at the border crossing of Podgorica Airport. In a statement, the police announced, “Today, on December 31, 2024, he (Do Kwon) was handed over to the competent law enforcement authorities of the United States of America and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).”
The extradition of Do Kwon follows a protracted legal battle. Both South Korea and the U.S. sought Kwon’s extradition, leading to multiple court rulings in Montenegro over several months that vacillated between sending him to the U.S. or back to his home country.
Kwon and another South Korean individual were detained in Montenegro in March 2023 as they attempted to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, using counterfeit Costa Rican passports. Kwon served time in a Montenegrin prison for his involvement with a fake passport.
In the U.S., Kwon faces fraud charges filed by federal prosecutors in New York related to a $40 billion collapse of Terraform Labs’ cryptocurrency. This collapse adversely impacted retail investors worldwide.
Kwon, along with five others affiliated with Terraform, were accused of fraudulent activities and financial crimes associated with the crash of its digital currencies in May 2022. TerraUSD, initially devised as a “stablecoin” tied to assets like the dollar to stabilize prices, experienced a significant decline below its $1 peg, resulting in a loss of approximately $40 billion in market value for TerraUSD and its counterpart currency, Luna, holders.
