Rome, Dec 31 (IANS) Montenegro has extradited South Korean crypto mogul Do Kwon to the United States, where he will stand trial for allegations related to the 2022 collapse of some crypto coins, reports said Tuesday.
Montenegrin police handed Kwon over to US officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and judicial authorities at Podgorica International Airport, according to local reports.
His extradition to the US came nearly two years after Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March last year for traveling on a fake passport.
33-year-old Kwon, whose full name is Kwon Do-hyung, is a co-founder of the cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs and has been wanted both by South Korea and the US for an investigation and possible indictment on charges connected to the massive crash of TerraUSD and Luna coins run by his company.
The crash was estimated to have wiped out nearly 50 trillion won (US$33.9 billion) in market value, Yonhap news agency reported.
Kwon has sought legal action in Montenegro to be repatriated to South Korea to face legal proceedings, but the Montenegrin court has rejected his appeals.
Last week, the Montenegrin government decided that it will extradite Do Kwon to the United States for trial.
Montenegro’s Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic signed the decision ordering the extradition of Do Kwon, whose full name is Kwon Do-hyung, to the US, the local online newspaper Vijesti reported Friday.
Seoul authorities have been looking into Kwon’s fraud and tax evasion charges after investors in the company’s cryptocurrencies — TerraUSD and Luna — pressed Ponzi-scheme charges against him following the coins’ massive crash in May 2022.
TerraUSD was designed as a stablecoin, which was pegged to stable assets like the US dollar. But holders of TerraUSD and Luna lost more than an estimated US$40 billion in market value after the stablecoin plunged far below its $1 peg in May 2022.
–IANS
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