Montenegro court dismisses Terra co-founder Do Kwon’s extradition appeal

The Constitutional Court of Montenegro rejected former Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon ’s appeal against a previous Supreme Court decision on his extradition, local news outlet Vijesti reported.

The court panel unanimously decided to reject Kwon’s appeal on Tuesday, the report said . This follows a constitutional court ruling in October, which suspended the South Korea native’s extradition proceedings until a decision was reached on the appeal.

Kwon’s rejected appeal challenged a previous Supreme Court of Montenegro ruling in September to nullify the Terra founder’s transfer to South Korea, and determined that the final extradition decision would be made by the country’s Minister of Justice.

The High Court in Montenegro first ruled to extradite Kwon to the United States in February of this year to face legal consequences related to the Terra-Luna collapse of 2022. However, the court reversed the decision in early March and opted instead to extradite him to South Korea, followed by months of appeals, delays and inconsistent rulings.

After repeated reversals and delays, Kwon's extradition — to either South Korea or the U.S. — now depends on Justice Minister Bojan Božović's decision. The final date for any extradition is still pending.

Goran Rodić, Kwon's local attorney, called on Božović to ensure an impartial extradition decision based strictly on law and devoid of political considerations, local news outlet Pobjeda reported .

The extradition case of Kwon has triggered political scandals in Montenegro, with former Justice Minister Andrej Milovic accusing Prime Minister Milojko Spajić of favoring extradition to South Korea due to financial ties with Kwon.