Terra·Luna Incident Kwon Do-hyung Faces 'Hell'... "Plan for US Extradition"

Foreign Media: "Montenegro Minister of Justice, Unofficial Decision"
Over 100 Years Imprisonment Possible if Extradited to US

Montenegro authorities are reportedly planning to extradite Kwon Do-hyung, CEO of Terraform Labs, who caused the Terra·Luna incident and inflicted massive damage on the global cryptocurrency market, to the United States.

Kwon Do-hyung, CEO of Terraform Labs and the main figure behind the 'Terra·Luna collapse' incident, was arrested in Montenegro on the 23rd. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to reports from major foreign media on the 7th (local time), the Montenegro Ministry of Justice has confidentially revealed plans to send Kwon Do-hyung to the United States for criminal prosecution instead of South Korea.

Last month, a Montenegro court approved Kwon's extradition but left the decision of whether to send him to the U.S. or South Korea to Justice Minister Andrija Milovi?. According to reports, Minister Milovi? has already indicated plans to send Kwon to the U.S. during private discussions with other officials, including a meeting with the U.S. ambassador to Montenegro last month.

Kwon Do-hyung, CEO of Terraform Labs.
[Photo by Terra official website]

Additionally, the extradition decision will be made only after Kwon serves a four-month prison sentence handed down locally in Montenegro for forgery of official documents.

In a local broadcast interview on the 23rd of last month, Milovi? hinted at his intentions regarding Kwon's extradition by stating, "The United States is our most important foreign policy partner."

However, Minister Milovi? avoided commenting on the confidential discussions and only stated in a press release that "the decision will be announced to the public at an appropriate time."

Since Kwon has expressed his intention to appeal the court's decision, it appears that Minister Milovi? will make a final decision only after the court's ruling is finalized. Last month, in the second trial at the Montenegro court, Kwon was again found guilty of forgery of official documents and sentenced to four months in prison, the same as in the first trial.

If Kwon Do-hyung is extradited to the U.S., he could face over 100 years in prison

CEO Kwon Do-hyung appearing in court immediately after being arrested by Montenegrin judicial authorities last April.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Kwon, a South Korean national, was the developer of the cryptocurrency Terra·Luna and rapidly rose to billionaire status as Terra·Luna gained attention. However, last year, the value of Terra·Luna plummeted drastically within days, turning him into an economic criminal suspect. The estimated damage amounts to 52 trillion won, with over 250,000 victims.

Kwon fled overseas just before the Terra·Luna crash unfolded but was caught at Podgorica Airport in Montenegro in March when a forged passport was detected as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). He is currently serving a four-month prison sentence and is scheduled to be extradited to either South Korea or the United States after completing his sentence.

In South Korea, the maximum sentence for economic crimes is 40 years, but the United States applies a consecutive sentencing system where each individual crime is sentenced separately. Therefore, if Kwon is extradited to the U.S., it is expected that he could face a prison term exceeding 100 years. In fact, Bernard Madoff, considered the worst financial criminal in U.S. history, was sentenced to 150 years in prison for his multi-level Ponzi scheme.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.