Montenegro Court Approves Kwon Do-hyung's Extradition... Decision Authority Lies with the Minister of Justice

The Montenegrin court has reapproved the extradition of Kwon Do-hyung, CEO of Terraform Labs, who is at the center of the cryptocurrency Terra and Luna crash incident. With the decision now in the hands of the local Minister of Justice, who has expressed a stance on Kwon's potential transfer to the United States, the possibility of Kwon being sent to the U.S. is gaining weight.

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On the 10th (local time), local daily newspapers Vijesti and Pobjeda reported, citing Mariya Rakovi?, spokesperson for the Podgorica High Court in Montenegro, that the court has made a decision to approve the extradition of Kwon after determining that the legal requirements for extradition were met. Rakovi? stated that the final decision regarding the extradition country will be made by Minister of Justice Andrija Milovi?.

Previously, Kwon was decided to be repatriated to South Korea, but the local Supreme Court invalidated this decision on the 5th following a request for a legal review from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. Accordingly, the Podgorica High Court conducted a second review of Kwon's extradition procedure, following the first in November last year.

The Supreme Court stated in its ruling, "In a situation where two countries are competing over extradition, the court's duty is to determine whether the requirements for extradition of the defendant are met." It further judged, "The approval of extradition or the decision on priority should be made by the competent minister, not the court."

Accordingly, with Kwon's extradition approved, the final decision on the destination country has been transferred to the Minister of Justice. Although Kwon still has the right to appeal, considering that Minister Milovi? favors Kwon's transfer to the United States, the possibility of Kwon being extradited to the U.S. is gaining more support. Kwon can appeal within three days from the day he receives the translated ruling from the Podgorica High Court.

Kwon left for Singapore in April 2022, just before the Terra Luna incident broke out, and then disappeared. After passing through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Serbia, he arrived in Montenegro, but was arrested at a local airport in March last year after a forged passport was detected. Kwon served a four-month prison sentence for using a forged passport and was released on the 23rd of last month, after which he was transferred to a foreign detention center.

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