Do Kwon, the founder of the terra cryptocurrency, will be extradited by Montenegro to the United States

The founder of the Terra cryptocurrency, Do Kwon, leaving the court, in Podgorica, Montenegro, March 23, 2024. SAVO PRELEVIC / AFP Almost two years after his arrest in Montenegro, South Korean cryptocurrency specialist Do Kwon , suspected of fraud involving tens of billions of dollars, will be extradited to the United States rather than to his country of origin. The cryptocurrency tycoon, whose real name is Kwon Do-hyung, is wanted for the bankruptcy of his company Terraform Labs, founded in 2018, and which developed the terra and luna cryptocurrencies. The country of his extradition was announced on Friday December 27 by the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice, putting an end to a long legal procedure. A decision immediately denounced as “illegal” by the interested party’s lawyers. Do Kwon was arrested in March 2023 at the airport in Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, when he was preparing to board a flight to Dubai, in possession of a false Costa Rican passport. Before his arrest, he had been on the run for months, having fled South Korea, then Singapore, before his company went bankrupt in 2022. His extradition was requested by both Seoul and Washington for his alleged role in a fraud linked to the bankruptcy of his company, which wiped out around $40 billion (37.5 billion euros) in value and shook global cryptocurrency markets. Read also: Do ​​Kwon, the founder of the Terra cryptocurrency, indicted for fraud by the United States Read later “Competing” demands from South Korea and the United States Occurring three months before the legislative elections in Montenegro, his arrest had was used in the campaign by the outgoing Prime Minister, Dritan Abazovic, who accused an opponent, Milojko Spajic – who would become head of government after the election – of having maintained links with Do Kwon. Local media claimed in June 2024 that Mr. Spajic had invested 75,000 euros in the company Terraform Labs in 2018, citing an American court. After a series of decisions by the Montenegrin courts, approving then canceling extradition requests, the country’s Constitutional Court lifted the last block on Tuesday. It validated the decision of the Supreme Court, which ruled in September that the conditions were met for extradition of the entrepreneur to South Korea or the United States – leaving the Minister of Justice to decide on these requests “ competing”. “The Ministry of Justice took into consideration all the facts and circumstances (…) such as the seriousness of the criminal acts, the location of the facts, the order of filing of the request [d’extradition]…”, explained the ministry in its press release. According to the Constitutional Court, Do Kwon “agreed to extradition” to either country. “He did not mention family conditions (…) or the separation of the family. » For Do Kwon’s Montenegrin lawyers, Marija Radulovic and Goran Rodic, the decision of the Minister of Justice is “illegal”, and they have taken legal action again to challenge it. “We filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court demanding the suspension of the execution [de la décision du ministre] “, declared the lawyers in a press release sent to Agence France-Presse. They add that they have contacted the European Court of Human Rights with the same objective to ask it to issue “provisional measures”, denouncing a “serious violation” of their client’s human rights. Belgian passports Do Kwon was arrested along with his financial director. The latter was extradited to South Korea in February. The two men also had Belgian passports in different names in their luggage, according to a local court. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover This Stanford graduate, who worked for Apple and Microsoft, quickly achieved success, attracting billions of investments and sparking global media hype. South Korean media called him a “genius.” The terra cryptocurrency was presented as a stable cryptocurrency, one dollar was exchanged for one terra, supposed to be less volatile than a classic cryptocurrency like bitcoin, whose price fluctuates according to supply and demand. On the other hand, unlike the largest stablecoins, its stability was guaranteed by an algorithm rather than by own reserves in currencies or other tangible assets. Experts explained that Kwon had set up a Ponzi scheme, a fraudulent financial arrangement which consists of remunerating the investments of existing clients mainly with funds provided by new entrants. He filed for bankruptcy in the United States of his company Terraform Labs, based in Singapore, the latter announced in January. The fall of both currencies would have led to additional losses of more than $500 billion in global cryptocurrency markets. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In the jungle of cryptoassets, the time has come to put things in order Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content



Source link