Montenegrin Supreme Court Pauses Do Kwon Extradition to South Korea: Report

The Supreme Court of the southeastern European nation of Montenegro is again postponing Terra (LUNA) co-founder Do Kwon’s extradition to South Korea.

According to a report from Montenegrin news outlet Vijesti, Montenegro’s Supreme Court has halted the extradition due to a request for “protection of legality” brought forth by Kwon’s camp.

According to a statement from Montenegro’s highest court,

“At today’s session of the council, a Decision was adopted which determines the postponement of the execution of the decision of the High Court in Podgorica and the Court of Appeal of Montenegro, until the decision of the Supreme Court on the Request for the protection of legality, which will be made within the legal deadline.”

This is the second time the southeastern European Supreme Court has postponed Kwon’s extradition to South Korea this year.

In March, they first pumped the brakes on extradition, claiming the lower courts did not follow the law when they initially approved of Kwon’s extradition.

Earlier in the same month, Kwon’s extradition to the United States was also revoked due to procedural violations.

Then, in June, the High Court of Podgorica ruled that Kwon should be handed over to South Korea and not the US as the extradition request from Kwon’s homeland arrived earlier than that of the US.

At the time, the appellate court announced its support for the High Court’s ruling and also noted that there was no appeal against its decision.

However, last week, an appellate court in Montenegro upheld the initial decision of the lower courts on Kwon’s extradition.

Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 after attempting to board a flight to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a forged Costa Rican passport. He is facing criminal charges in the United States and South Korea related to the multibillion-dollar downfall of Terra and its stablecoin.

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