Extradition: Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, will be repatriated to South Korea, as decided today by a court in Montenegro.
This determination came after a Montenegrin court annulled a previous decision regarding the extradition of Kwon to the United States.
Let’s see below all the details.
Summary
After the extradition refusal in the United States, Do Kwon faces the return to South Korea
As anticipated, based on what was reported by the local media, a court in Montenegro ruled today that Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, will be extradited to South Korea.
This decision of the Supreme Court of Podgorica represents a reversal compared to the previous judgment of a Montenegrin court.
Indeed, on February 21st, she had rejected South Korea’s request to extradite Kwon to the United States, when he was the creator of the stablecoin TerraUSD.Â
At that moment, Do Kwon had filed an appeal against extradition to the United States, citing legal issues in the process.
On March 5, the Court of Appeal of Montenegro had annulled the extradition to the United States.
In the latest development, the national police agency of South Korea has requested the intervention of Interpol, the international agency for law enforcement, to ensure Kwon’s return to Korea from Montenegro.
It has been emphasized that the extradition request from South Korea was submitted before that of the United States.
The charges against Kwon relate to frauds related to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, with the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD that occurred in May 2022, resulting in a loss of 45 billion dollars in market capitalization.
Earth under the spotlight: the rise of 38%
With a recent increase of 38%, the cryptocurrency Terra has caught the attention of the crypto community. This significant increase is mainly attributed to the latest legal developments regarding Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs.
The previous victory of Kwon in the recent legal battle for extradition to the United States was made public thanks to the reversal of the verdict of a previous court.
I learn, at first, about the possibility of more time or even ending the extradition process.
The decision of the Court of Appeal of Montenegro to revoke the previous extradition order has infused hope in Kwon, who pleaded guilty to charges related to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.
This former legal success came at a tumultuous time for Kwon, who had taken refuge in Montenegro after the decline of Terra in 2022.
His subsequent arrest for possession of forged official documents has started a legal saga.
The new process, mentioned above, ordered by the court represented a crucial moment in Kwon’s legal battle, highlighting the complexities of extradition requests from the United States and South Korea.
The lack of clarity in the reasons for these requests had led to a necessary further deliberation by local courts.
Political pressures and legal-rialistic developments
As previously reported, Kwon’s lawyer suggested the influence of political pressure on the extradition process, adding an additional level of complexity to the case.
Furthermore, the recent extradition of Han Chang-Joon, former financial director of Kwon at Terraform, in South Korea, highlights the legal implications connected to the collapse of Terra.
Despite legal complexities, the value of the cryptocurrency Terra has seen an increase, with the price reaching 1.18 dollars and a trading volume of 1.2405 billion dollars in the last 24 hours.
The significant increase of 40.95% indicates a growing interest from investors, but indicators like 1-day RSI, MACD, and KST suggest potential overbought conditions and a possible loss of bullish momentum.
