Montenegro Orders Extradition of Do Kwon to the United States Over Crypto Scandal

In a latest development, Minister of Justice Bojan Božović has signed the decision ordering the extradition of Do Kwon to the United States of America (USA), as per a report from Vijesti. 

Previously, the Supreme Court of Montenegro had ruled that the legal conditions for extraditing Do Kwon were met, following extradition requests from both South Korea and the United States.

Extradition Request To South Korea Rejected

Notably, the Ministry of Justice reviewed the Supreme Court’s verdict and considered factors such as the severity of the criminal acts, the location of the offense, the order of extradition requests, the citizenship of Do Kwon, the possibility of further extradition, and other relevant circumstances.

“In view of the above, it was concluded that most of the criteria provided by the law support the request for extradition by the competent authorities of the United States of America, and the Minister of Justice issued a decision allowing the extradition of Kwon Do Hyeong to the United States to the United States, and at the same time refuses extradition to the Republic of Korea,” the Ministry of Justice noted in a statement.

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For context, the US and South Korean authorities have been investigating Do Kwon for his role in one of the biggest disasters in cryptocurrency history. In May 2022, the value of two cryptocurrencies he created, TerraUSD and Luna, dropped, wiping $40 billion from the cryptocurrency market which set off a chain reaction that pushed other digital crypto companies into bankruptcy. The investigation concluded that Do Kwon had lied to investors and was suspected of hiding wealth.

Do Kwon and his business partner Han Chang-Joon were arrested on March 23, 2023, at Podgorica Airport while trying to fly to Dubai using forged passports. He was sentenced to four months in prison in Montenegro for document falsification.

After serving his sentence, U.S. and South Korean authorities began pursuing extradition. Upon his release from Spuž prison on March 23, Montenegrin police transferred Do Kwon to the Foreigners’ Reception Center, where he will remain until the extradition process is finalized.