Montenegro Appellate Court upholds Do Kwon extradition to South Korea

On Aug. 1, the Montenegro Appellate Court upheld a previous ruling to extradite Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to his home country of South Korea.

According to a court statement, there is no motion to appeal the extradition ruling, and Do Kwon’s repatriation to South Korea will be fast-tracked.

The recent ruling is likely the last in a series of legal battles, appeals, and reversals on whether to extradite Kwon to the United States to face charges or to South Korea, which is likely a more favorable legal jurisdiction for the embattled South Korean native.

Terraform Labs and Kwon's legal battle in the United States 

In April, a US court found Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, liable for fraud in a case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The April 5 verdict found both Kwon and Terraform liable for six charges, including knowingly misleading investors and “reckless” mishandling of customer funds.

Later that same year, in June, Terraform Labs agreed to a $4.47 billion settlement with the SEC, which included disgorgement fines of roughly $3.6 billion, a $420 million civil penalty, and $467 million in interest payments on the fines. The SEC settlement was approved by Judge Rakoff on June 13, and also included approximately $204 million in legal fines imposed on Kwon.

Following the settlement, Terraform Labs announced it was ending operations on June 12, 2024, and relinquishing control of the Terra ecosystem to the community.

Terraform Labs and the connection to Montenegrin prime minister Milojko Spajic

In the wake of the legal settlement between Terraform Labs and the SEC, Montenegrin news outlet Vijesti claimed the current prime minister Milojko Spajic was an early investor in Terraform Labs.

According to the news outlet, the politician invested $75,000 into Terraform Labs in 2018 and received 750,000 LUNA tokens in return days before Terraform Labs was registered as a business entity in Singapore.

Spajic heavily denied these claims, stating that Das Capital SG, a company he worked for for three years before taking office, made the investment.