The Supreme Court of Montenegro has overturned earlier rulings regarding the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon and has ordered a new review of the case on April 5.

The decision calls for the High Court in Podgorica to re-examine the extradition requests it previously addressed in an expedited manner.

 

The Supreme Court’s decision comes after it found procedural errors in how the lower courts had handled the complex extradition case, which involves multiple countries seeking Kwon’s extradition.

Extradition blocked again

The Supreme Court ruled that lower courts had failed to properly assess the legality of each extradition request on an individual basis, a step highlighted as essential before the Minister of Justice can make an extradition decision.

The new ruling emphasizes the necessity of thorough legal evaluation in extradition cases, especially when multiple jurisdictions are involved. The court clarified that the Minister of Justice, not the courts, has the authority to decide on extraditions based on a comprehensive review of the legal conditions met by each requesting country.

Notably, the extradition proceedings have now been blocked several times. Initially, Kwon was set to be extradited to the US based on the government’s evaluation. However, the appeals court blocked the move and sent the matter to the High Court, which eventually decided to extradite him to South Korea because the country had made the extradition request first.

 

The process has once again been blocked by the Supreme Court, with the final decision-making power given to the Ministry of Justice, which previously decided to extradite Kwon to the US.

It is unclear whether the Ministry will make the same decision following the High Court’s reevaluation.

International crypto fugitive

Kwon became a controversial figure after the 2022 collapse of LUNA erased about $40 billion in market value. The incident led to accusations of fraud and initiated legal actions against him across various countries, with both the US and South Korea seeking his extradition to face trial.

The international pursuit of Kwon underlines the growing regulatory scrutiny on the crypto industry and raises questions about jurisdictional challenges in prosecuting alleged digital finance crimes.

His arrest in Montenegro on charges including the use of forged identification documents added another layer to his ongoing legal challenges.

 

As the High Court in Podgorica prepares to revisit the extradition requests, this case continues to attract global attention, reflecting broader issues of legal jurisdiction, regulatory oversight, and the complexities of international law in the digital economy.

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Author: Assad Jafri

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