Terra's Do Kwon faces extradition to Korea, not the U.S.

A Montenegrin appeals court ruled that Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon, currently detained in the Balkan country, will be extradited to Korea to face criminal charges, instead of the United States.

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon is escorted by police officers in Podgorica, Montenegro, on March 23. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

A Montenegrin appeals court ruled that Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon, currently detained in the Balkan country, will be extradited to Korea to face criminal charges instead of the United States.

Both Korea and the United States have been seeking Kwon’s extradition. The decision by the appellate court is likely to be the final confirmation of the disgraced crypto mogul's destination, as neither the prosecution nor the defendant appealed the ruling, according to the High Court in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.

The court ruling is the latest turn of events after an appeals court initially decided in March to extradite Kwon to his home country, Korea, which was then overturned by the top court in April.

A recent cabinet shake-up that ousted former Justice Minister of Montenegro Andrej Milović, who had favored extradition to the United States, is considered a key factor in the latest ruling.

Founded in April 2018, Terraform Labs was behind the cryptocurrencies Luna and TerraUSD. These tokens once reached a market cap of $2 billion, with TerraUSD becoming the fifth-largest stablecoin in 2021 before both collapsed catastrophically in May 2022. The Terra-Luna crash is estimated to have eliminated nearly $40 billion in market value.

Update, August 2: Added details about the appeals court ruling.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]