Montenegro has extradited South Korean citizen Hyeong Do Kwon to the United States, announced the Directorate of Police on December 31.
Do Kwon, known as the “king of cryptocurrencies,” was wanted by the U.S. for cryptocurrency fraud amounting to at least $40 billion.
“Today, at the border point of Podgorica Airport, officers from the NCB Interpol Podgorica, with the support of the Police Special Unit, extradited South Korean citizen DHK, who was wanted by two countries, namely South Korea and the United States,” the announcement stated.
Do Kwon was also sought by South Korea, but on December 27, Montenegro’s Minister of Justice, Bojan Bozović, decided that he should be extradited to the U.S.
Montenegrin courts had issued at least eight contradictory rulings regarding Do Kwon’s fate.
In September, Montenegro’s Supreme Court ruled that Do Kwon could be sent either to the United States or South Korea, with the final decision resting with the Minister of Justice.
On December 24, Do Kwon lost his final appeal in the Constitutional Court of Montenegro against his extradition.
Montenegro’s Ministry of Justice said it decided to extradite Do Kwon to the U.S. after considering all facts and evaluating the circumstances, including the severity of the crimes, where they were committed, the order in which the requests were made, the nationality of the fugitive, and the possibility of further extradition to another country.
Do Kwon and his business partner, Chang Jun, were arrested in Montenegro on March 23, 2023, when they attempted to travel to Dubai on a private flight using forged passports.
Kwon was later sentenced to four months in prison for falsifying travel documents. Chang Jun was extradited to South Korea earlier this year.
In October, Do Kwon claimed that the charges from South Korea were illegal and “politically motivated.”
Do Kwon’s trial was held in absentia in the United States, where a jury in New York on April 5 found him and Terraform Labs guilty of civil fraud charges, agreeing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that they had defrauded investors.
Terraform Labs agreed to pay around $4.5 billion in a civil settlement with the SEC following the court’s ruling. Do Kwon was ordered to pay $204 million.
