Montenegro plans to extradite crypto fraudster Do Kwon

Do Kwon, the cryptocurrency entrepreneur who created the failed Terra (UST) stablecoin, is taken to court in Podgorica, Montenegro, on March 24, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Montenegro plans to extradite disgraced cryptocurrency boss Do Kwon to the United States, rather than to Korea, to face criminal charges.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the country’s justice minister, Andrej Milovic, who will make the final decision on Kwon’s extradition, discussed plans to extradite Kwon to the United States in closed-door meetings with other officials, citing anonymous sources. One such meeting with Judy Rising Reinke, the U.S. ambassador to Montenegro, took place in November.

Milovic did not comment on the matter, saying “the public will be informed of the decision in a timely manner,” in a statement.

Kwon, the co-founder of Singapore-based cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs, was arrested in Montenegro in March after months on run with forged passports. He had been on the lam following the crash of Terraform Labs’ TerraUSD and Luna coins in May 2022, which eliminated nearly 50 trillion won ($38 billion) of market value.

Kwon, a Korean citizen, is wanted for fraud in both the United States and Korea.

Korean prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for Kwon on allegations of providing false information to investors and violating the Capital Markets Act. He has also been charged with fraud by federal prosecutors in New York.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]