Montenegro Court Approves Crypto Fugitive's Extradition

A Montenegro appeals court has cleared the way for the extradition of cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon to South Korea, where he is wanted in connection with the multibillion-dollar collapse of the Terraform Labs company, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

The crypto tycoon, whose real name is Kwon Do-hyung, had been on the run for months after fleeing South Korea and then Singapore before the company’s collapse in 2022. I Screenshot: FAQX™ We mining it. / Wikimedia Commons

For months, both Seoul and Washington have sought the South Korean’s extradition for his alleged role in a fraud related to the company’s failure, which wiped out about $40 billion of investors’ money and shook global crypto markets.

“The ruling of the High Court in Podgorica that allows the extradition… at the request of South Korea is final,” the appeals court of Montenegro said. The court also upheld an earlier decision to reject a request to extradite Kwon to the U.S.

This decision is the latest in a series of court rulings that have seen earlier extradition requests approved and later rescinded following the arrest of the entrepreneur last year.

The crypto tycoon, whose real name is Kwon Do-hyung, had been on the run for months after fleeing South Korea and then Singapore before the company’s collapse in 2022.

Kwon was arrested along with an accomplice at an airport in the capital, Podgorica. Montenegro has already deported Kwon’s business partner — identified only by his initials J.C.H. — to South Korea in early February.