On December 25, a Montenegrin court dismissed the appeal of Terra founder Do Kwon against extradition. The decision to transfer him to either the United States or South Korea was delegated to the country’s Minister of Justice, Bojan Božović.

Kwon and his colleague, former Terraform Labs CFO Han Chang-Joon, were arrested on March 23, 2023, at Podgorica airport while attempting to fly to Dubai using forged passports.

At the time of his arrest, Kwon was already on an international wanted list due to his involvement in the Terra collapse. Montenegro’s Interior Minister Filip Adžić called him “one of the most wanted fugitives,” responsible for damages exceeding $40 billion.

Following his detention, both the U.S. and South Korean authorities submitted competing requests for Kwon’s extradition. The entrepreneur repeatedly challenged Montenegrin court decisions approving his transfer to one of these countries.

In March 2024, Kwon was released from prison after serving a sentence for using fake documents to cross the border. He was barred from leaving Montenegro during ongoing legal proceedings.

In September, officials referred the case to the Minister of Justice. However, after another appeal from Kwon, Montenegro’s Constitutional Court intervened. Following months of deliberations, the authority to decide was returned to the Minister.

Reminder: In September, Terraform Labs was granted approval to liquidate the company as part of bankruptcy proceedings.