Do Kwon Extradition Sought by U.S., South Korea, Says Montenegro Justice Minister

The extradition of TerraForm Labs founder Do Kwon from Montenegro has been requested by both the U.S. and South Korea, Justice Minister Marko Kovac said at a Wednesday press conference.

Kwon was arrested at Podgorica airport last week. Extradition proceedings will take place only after a separate case for forgery of identification documents, Kovac said.

“Primacy is given to the court proceedings led in Montenegro,” Kovac said, speaking through an interpreter. “If they are convicted for the criminal offense of falsifying identification documents, only after they served their prison sentence is it expected that they will be extradited.”

Kovac said he had received no official extradition request from Singapore, though he was aware of media reports of proceedings there.

Kwon and his business associate Han Chang Joon – arrested alongside Kwon – are the subjects of an international warrant issued by South Korea following the collapse of the terraUSD stablecoin last year, which sent shockwaves through crypto markets. Kovac said he wasn’t aware how or why they arrived in Montenegro.

Given suspicions that they might hold cryptocurrency or other potential evidence, the U.S. and South Korea have also requested Kwon’s laptops and other devices, Kovac added.

UPDATE (March 29, 11:58 UTC): Adds quote in third paragraph.

UPDATE (March 29, 13:08 UTC): Adds extra details in fourth paragraph onwards.

DISCLOSURE