Authorities from each the US and South Korea have made efforts to have Terra co-founder Do Kwon extradited to their respective international locations following his arrest in Montenegro.
At a March 29 press convention, Montenegrin Justice Minister Marko Kovač mentioned the US made diplomatic efforts to ask for Kwon to be handed over, whereas South Korean officers have requested extradition. Kovač made the announcement following Kwon’s arrest at Montenegro’s Podgorica airport on March 23, including the Terra co-founder’s detainment had been prolonged to 30 days.
“In the case when we receive several extradition requests, I would like to say that determining to which state they will be extradited is based on several factors like the severity of the committed criminal offense, the location and time when the criminal offense has been committed, the order in which we have received the request for extradition and several other factors,” mentioned Kovač by an interpreter.
Kovač mentioned selections concerning custody of Kwon will go to Montenegro’s excessive courtroom. In keeping with the justice minister, the Terra co-founder used allegedly solid passports whereas in Montenegro and will serve time within the nation associated to these fees if convicted earlier than any extradition is granted.
Kwon’s whereabouts had largely been unknown following the collapse of Terra in Might 2022, although he was usually lively on his Twitter account and mentioned he was making “zero effort to hide” in September. In February, experiences recommended that Kwon might have traveled to Serbia — the European nation borders Montenegro to the north — after Interpol issued a Purple Discover for his provisional arrest.
A South Korean citizen, Kwon would probably face prosecution in his house nation, the place Terraform Labs was headquartered and authorities have been concentrating on people concerned within the collapse of the platform. On the time of publication, the whereabouts of Terra co-founder Daniel Shin had been unknown, however Kwon’s affiliate Han Chang-Joon was additionally detained in Montenegro.
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It’s unclear which nation, if any, can be the almost certainly to be granted extradition of Kwon. The state of affairs echoes makes an attempt by the US to achieve custody of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was within the Bahamas on the time of the alternate’s collapse.
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