Disgraced Korean crypto mogul Do Kwon faces extradition to U.S. instead

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Disgraced Korean crypto mogul Do Kwon faces extradition to U.S. instead

Published: 22 Feb. 2024, 11:32 Updated: 22 Feb. 2024, 13:03

SHIN HA-NEE
shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr

Do Kwon is being transferred to a court in Podgorica, Montenegro, for trial on passport forgery charges on June 16, 2023. [VIJESTI]

Do Kwon, the disgraced Korean cryptocurrency mogul, is set to be extradited to the United States, not Korea, to answer criminal fraud charges, as reportedly ruled by a court in Montenegro.

Kwon, a Korean citizen, has been wanted for fraud in the U.S. and Korea as authorities in both countries sought to press criminal charges against the mastermind behind the failed TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s report Wednesday, the High Court in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro where Kwon has been in custody since early last year for traveling on a fake passport, decided that he should face trial in a U.S. court.

Kwon’s lawyer pledged to appeal the case to the higher court, as the disgraced entrepreneur has denied committing fraud.

Kwon, the co-founder of Singapore-based cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs, was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 after months on the 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 $40 billion of market value.

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