Anika Begay
Montenegro’s Supreme Court has postponed the extradition of Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon to his home country of South Korea, pending a review of the legality of previous court decisions.
This comes after the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office (VDT) filed a request for protection of legality on August 2, proposing to delay the execution of the extradition orders issued by the Podgorica High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Conflicting rulings plague Do Kwon extradition saga
Second local media reportsThe panel, chaired by Judge Seka Piletić, issued the ruling in response to a request from the VDT, which raised concerns about the validity of previous court decisions. approving Do Kwon’s extradition to South Korea and the refusal of his extradition to the United States were lawful under Montenegro’s Act on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.
“At today’s session of the Council, a Decision was adopted establishing the postponement of the execution of the judgment of the High Court in Podgorica and the Court of Appeal of Montenegro until the Supreme Court’s decision on the request for protection of legality, which will be made within the legal deadlines,” the Supreme Court’s statement reads.
This latest development in the complex legal saga surrounding Do Kwon’s extradition is the culmination of a series of conflicting court rulings in Montenegro. In March 2023, Do Kwon was arrested at Podgorica airport while attempting to flee to Dubai with his business partner, Chang Jun, using fake passports.
The Podgorica High Court initially decided to extradite Do Kwon to the United States, but the decision was later overturned. The court then decided to approve his extradition to South Korea, a ruling later upheld by the Court of Appeal.
However, the request for protection of legality advanced by the VDT prompted the Supreme Court to intervene and postpone the extradition proceedings.
The accusations of abuse of power
According to the report, Do Kwon’s defense attorney, Goran Radić, criticized the VDT sharesstating that “the revision of a final decision, favourable to the defendant, is not possible except in the case of abuse of position”.
Radić also highlighted the “series of inconsistent legal decisions” in the case, accusing authorities of prioritizing the minister’s “illegal private promise to extradite Kwon” over the proper application of the law and international agreements.
The case of Do Kwon, dubbed the “mastermind” behind the collapse of the Terra/LUNA cryptocurrency ecosystem, which is estimated to have caused investors to lose over $40 billion, has attracted considerable attention and controversy.
His arrest and subsequent legal battles in Montenegro over the past year have been intertwined with the political tensions between the former and current Prime Minister, Dritan Abazović and Milojko Spajić.
At the time of writing, Luna Classic (LUNC), the blockchain’s native token, is trading at $0.00006896, up 5.4% over the past 24 hours, as the broader cryptocurrency market has partially recovered from Monday’s plunge.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
