In 2022, facing the collapse of his Terra Luna blockchain, Do Kwon caused investors to lose more than $40 billion.
The Court of Appeal of Montenegro ruled in favor on Tuesday of the lawyers of the founder of the Terra cryptocurrency, Do Kwon, and overturned a decision of the High Court of Podgorica which ordered his extradition to the United States.
“The Court of Appeal of Montenegro, after the session on March 5, 2024, issued a decision in which it accepted the appeal of the defense lawyers of the accused Kwon Do Hyeong and overturned the decision of the High Court of Podgorica dated February 20, 2024 and returned the case in first instance to the court for retrial and decision”, we can read in a press release published on the court’s website.
This court justified its decision by “significant violations of the provisions relating to criminal procedure” by the High Court. At the end of February, the latter took a first step towards the extradition of Do Kwon by giving a favorable opinion to the United States’ request, a decision which the lawyers of the founder of Terra immediately appealed.
Several months on the run
Washington and Seoul both claim this South Korean founder of the Terra cryptocurrency for his role in the collapse of his company Terraform in 2022, which caused investors to lose around $40 billion.
Kwon Do-hyung, his real name, was arrested in March 2023 in Montenegro after months on the run. He was sentenced in June by a Montenegrin court to four months in prison for falsifying documents, because when he was arrested at Podgorica airport he was in possession of a false passport.
Terra was presented as a stable cryptocurrency, supposed to be less volatile than a classic cryptocurrency like bitcoin, the price of which fluctuates according to supply and demand. But unlike larger stablecoins, its stability was guaranteed by an algorithm rather than its own reserves of currencies or other tangible assets. In early February, Do Kwo’s business partner, identified only by his initials JCH, was extradited from Montenegro to South Korea.
Source: https://www.bfmtv.com/crypto/montenegro-l-extradition-de-do-kwon-fondateur-de-la-blockchain-terra-annulee-en-justice_AD-202403050547.html
