Terra co-founder Do Kwon will stay in Montenegro until February: Report

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, expected to be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges, will reportedly stay in Montenegrin custody until February.

According to a Dec. 12 Bloomberg report, authorities with the U.S. and South Korea requested Montenegrin officials hold Kwon for an additional two months following the conclusion of his prison sentence. The Terraform Labs co-founder was arrested in Montenegro in March for using falsified travel documents and sentenced to four months behind bars.

Kwon, a South Korean national formerly based in Singapore, has been charged in the U.S. and South Korea for his alleged role in the collapse of Terra. The Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 7 that the U.S. would be taking custody of Kwon before South Korea. Both countries have extradition requests pending at the time of publication.

Related: Do Kwon could serve prison in both US and South Korea, prosecutor says

If extradited to the United States, Kwon would face eight criminal charges, including commodities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud and engage in market manipulation related to his time at Terraform Labs. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also charged Kwon with “defrauding investors in crypto schemes.”

Terra collapsed in May 2022, which many considered a significant event kicking off a crypto market downturn. TerraUSD (UST) depegged from the U.S. dollar, and many firms later filed for bankruptcy, including Voyager Digital, BlockFi, Celsius Network and FTX.

Magazine: Terra collapsed because it used hubris for collateral — Knifefight