Montenegrin Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic has ordered the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, also wanted by South Korea, to the USA, the ministry said Friday.
A South Korean national, Kwon is the previous CEO of South Korea-based Terraform Labs, the corporate behind the stablecoin TrraUSD that collapsed in May 2022, roiling cryptocurrency markets.
He was arrested in March 2023 while attempting to go away Montenegro.
After the Supreme Court determined that every one legal conditions were fulfilled to extradite Do Kwon, the justice ministry concluded that the majority legal criteria favored the US request so Bozovic signed a decree to send him to the USA, the ministry said in a press release.
Kwon has denied wrongdoing. He also faces related US criminal charges.
His lawyers said that Bozovic had declined to deliver his decision on their request, thus violating their client’s basic human rights, the precise to defense and legal treatment, the Pobjeda newspaper reported.
Kwon and his company Terraform Labs were sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2023 over the TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies, which authorities have said caused about $40 billion of losses in crypto markets.
A stablecoin is a digital asset that goals to maintain a stable price. Normally pegged to a currency, they’re intended to be less volatile than other cryptocurrencies.
The SEC said Terraform and Kwon deceived investors in regards to the stability of TerraUSD and the way a well-liked Korean mobile payment app used the Terraform blockchain to settle transactions.
