A Montenegrin appeals court has denied Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon's appeal, upholding his extradition to South Korea over cryptocurrency venture collapse charges.

Montenegrin Court Upholds Extradition Decision for Terraform Labs Founder Do Kwon

According to an official notice issued on Wednesday, a Montenegrin appeals court has rejected Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon's request to overturn a ruling approving his extradition to South Korea.

Earlier this month, a Balkan court ruled that Kwon could be extradited to South Korea to face criminal charges related to the collapse of his multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency venture in May 2022. According to the notice issued on Wednesday, Kwon unsuccessfully appealed the decision.

Goran Rodic, Do Kwon's attorney, told CoinDesk that the extradition was now final, and neither the US nor Kwon could appeal the decision. He added that there is no timetable for when he could be extradited. A spokesperson for the US Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kwon, who was arrested in Montenegro and charged with possessing falsified official documents, successfully appealed previous high court decisions that approved his extradition to the United States. The appeals court rejected previous high court extradition decisions, stating that the approved extradition requests were not legally sound.

"Deciding on the appeal of the defendant's counsel, the panel of the Court of Appeals assessed that the first-instance court had correctly established that the request of the Republic of South Korea arrived earlier in the order of arrival compared to the request of the USA, so it correctly assessed this and other criteria," Wednesday's notice said.

US Continues Extradition Efforts as Montenegro Court Sets Date for Kwon's Extradition to South Korea

The US Department of Justice has stated that it will continue to seek Kwon's extradition to the U.S.

On March 8, Kwon's attorney, Goran Rodic, told CoinDesk via text that a Montenegro court had ruled to extradite him to South Korea after March 23 but did not say whether he would appeal.

The United States continues to seek Kwon’s extradition in accordance with relevant international and bilateral agreements and Montenegrin law,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in an email to CoinDesk. “The United States appreciates the cooperation of the Montenegrin authorities in ensuring that all individuals are subject to the rule of law.”

The United States and Kwon's native South Korea have been battling in court over his extradition. Since Terra collapsed in mid-2022, global authorities, including Interpol, have kept an eye on Kwon. Terra's collapse wiped out billions of dollars in investor funds, prompting Kwon to flee to Montenegro, where he was arrested for possessing falsified official documents.

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