Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs was released from Montenegro prison on Saturday as the Supreme Court deliberated over South Korea’s and the United States’ requests for extradition.
Prison director Darko Vukcevic told Bloomberg News that Kwon’s release was due to the end of his regular prison term for traveling with fraudulent papers. “Since he is a foreign citizen and his documents were withheld, he was taken for an interview to the police directorate for foreigners, and they will deal with him further,” added Vukcevic.
Despite his newfound freedom, Kwon’s legal problems are far from over, as his passport is still delayed, preventing him from leaving Montenegro. Goran Rodic, Kwon’s lawyer, confirmed his client’s release and added that he intends to appeal with the court for Kwon’s freedom until a final judgment on extradition is reached. According to State TV, Kwon was relocated to a foreign shelter on Saturday.
Montenegro’s Supreme Court on Friday blocked lower-level judges’ rulings to extradite Kwon to South Korea, putting an end to efforts to return the Terraform Labs co-founder to his home country. Notably, penalties are less harsh there than in the United States, where prosecutors intend to charge Kwon with the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin in 2022.
The Supreme Court intervened a day after the Balkan country’s chief prosecutor disputed the findings in favor of South Korea’s request, citing procedural flaws. Extradition to either nation is now only feasible after more deliberations by the Court, which provided no timetable for a final judgment when it issued its ruling on Friday.
Meanwhile, Kwon’s trial has been rescheduled for late March, according to the official court ruling.
The drama surrounding Kwon is related to claims of fraud in the US and South Korea that were linked to the demise of Terra Luna, which saw its market value plummet by over $60 billion in 2022, as earlier reported by Coinrise.
After being apprehended on the Podgorica Airport tarmac while trying to escape to Dubai with a fake Costa Rican passport, Kwon was found guilty of traveling with counterfeit documents and sentenced to prison.
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