The United States and South Korea are seeking the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon. SAVO PRELEVIC/AFP (via Getty Images)
South Korean cryptocurrency fugitive Do Kwon was released from a prison in Montenegro early Saturday morning as the Supreme Court considers extradition requests from the United States and South Korea.
“We released Mr. Do Kwon because his standard sentence for traveling with false documents has expired,” prison director Darko Vukcevic said by phone. “Since he is a foreigner and his documents had been seized, he was taken to the Foreigners Police Station for questioning. Police will take further action.”
Kwon's lawyer, Goran Roddik, also confirmed his release. State television said Kwon's passport was seized to prevent him from leaving the country.
State television reported that Mr. Kwon was transferred to a foreign asylum late Saturday, citing Mr. Roddick, who said Mr. Kwon should remain at large until an extradition decision was made and that he planned to appeal to the court. added.
Montenegro's Supreme Court on Friday blocked an earlier decision by a lower judge to extradite the former crypto tycoon to South Korea, delaying efforts to extradite the Terraform Labs Pte co-founder to his home country. The penalties are lighter than in the United States, and prosecutors are planning to try Kwon in connection with the collapse of the $40 billion algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD in 2022.
The Supreme Court acted a day after the Balkan country's top prosecutor challenged a ruling in favor of South Korea's claims, citing procedural errors. Extradition to either country is currently possible only after further consideration by the court, which did not give a deadline for a final decision when it announced its decision on Friday.
