On Thursday, the Appellate Court of Montenegro made a decision to repatriate Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, to his home country, South Korea. The ruling upheld a previous decision in April from the High Court of Podgorica, which denied a request to extradite the individual involved in the cryptocurrency case to the United States. The date for Kwon’s extradition to South Korea has not been determined yet.
The recent ruling on August 1 in Montenegro marks another development in a long and complex series of legal disputes for the discredited cryptocurrency founder. After a ruling by a high court in Montenegro to send Kwon back to South Korea, the top court has now decided to overturn that decision and transfer the case to a lower court in April.
The court’s statement on Thursday confirmed that the decision of the High Court in Podgorica, regarding the extradition process, is legally binding and cannot be appealed. 
In May 2022, Terraform Labs, a company established in 2018, experienced a significant decline in market value, causing a major disruption in the crypto industry. In the past year, after the failure of its own digital currencies in 2022, Terraform Labs sought bankruptcy protection by filing for Chapter 11 in Delaware.
Both the United States and South Korea have requested Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro to address charges following his arrest at an airport in possession of forged travel documents.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing Kwon and Terraform for allegedly defrauding American investors who bought their digital assets, TerraUSD and Luna, in February 2023. Meanwhile, Kwon is being sought after in South Korea for suspected fraud and financial offences linked to the collapse of Terra USD and Luna in May 2022.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated in March that it is actively pursuing Kwon’s extradition, following the appropriate international and bilateral agreements as well as Montenegrin law.
It appears that the crypto fugitive is on track to be extradited and brought to South Korea to face the consequences of their actions.
Kwon was apprehended in Montenegro in March 2023 while trying to board a flight to Dubai using a forged passport. The founder of Terraform Labs served a four-month jail sentence but was eventually released on bail in March 2024.
In order to resolve a civil securities fraud lawsuit, Kwon’s company, which is now bankrupt, has agreed to pay a penalty of nearly $4.5 billion to the U.S. SEC. Kwon made a significant contribution of $204 million as part of the deal. Terraform Labs has also agreed to wind down its operations. Recently, it revealed a strategic sale process as part of the ongoing Chapter 11 case.
