Do Kwon’s extradition to US to be retried in Montenegro

Do Kwon faces extradition requests from both the US and South Korea

article-image

Terra and Neeqolah/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Former Terraform CEO Do Kwon’s extradition is still pending after a court in Montenegro granted his appeal.

A Montenegro High Court previously ruled that the extradition prerequisites had been met, initially paving the way for Kwon to be extradited. Reports even circulated that Montenegro was leaning toward a US extradition before the appellate court heard Kwon’s appeal.

However, lawyers representing Kwon have now successfully asserted that the High Court failed to hear Kwon’s response to the US request for extradition. 

“The investigating judge heard the defendant on the request of the Republic of South Korea, who agreed to be extradited by summary procedure in relation to this request, while he did not hear the defendant in relation to the request for extradition to the USA, which was delivered to that court before its hearing,” the appellate court found

Read more: Where things stand: The SEC vs Do Kwon and Terraform Labs

Because the judge failed to inform Kwon on the US request for extradition, the ruling was revoked, as the court “acted contrary” to the law. 

The case now goes back to the High Court for both a retrial and a decision. It’s unclear how long the process will take. 

However, a court in Podgorica extended Kwon’s custody in Montenegro until February after the US and South Korea asked for Montenegro to extend the extradition detention. 

In early December, the Wall Street Journal reported that Montenegro planned to extradite Kwon to the US over South Korea. With the retrial pending, it’s uncertain if officials will still lean towards the US.

Both the US and South Korea have pending charges against Kwon. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has an open case against both Terraform Labs and Kwon, alleging that the two violated securities laws. The collapse of algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) led to a huge crypto crash, the ripple effects saw some crypto lenders — including Voyager and Celsius — filing for bankruptcy.

In South Korea, Kwon faces capital markets violations and fraud charges. 

The extradition was previously postponed after a court in Montenegro found Kwon guilty of falsifying travel documents. In June, he was sentenced to four months in prison after his arrest in March.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (2).png

Research

We’re bullish on the PUMP token. We believe Pump.fun's brand strength, existing integrations, product roadmap, and strategic levers justify PUMP's TGE valuation, and expect the token to re-rate meaningfully higher in the months ahead.

article-image

Big blockers wasted a bitcoin fortune trying to prove a point

article-image

Coinbase’s newest acquisition includes the CEO and Head of Research from Opyn

article-image

Crypto’s highest purpose might be to make markets better by making them bigger

article-image

The non-profit’s “Project Open” seeks to let stocks trade directly on Solana

article-image

The acquisition is Pump.fun’s first, and comes just days before its planned ICO

article-image

As Trump’s tariff war reignites, everyone is assuming the dollar will continue its path lower. But the journey might be bumpy