PODGORICA (Reuters) – Montenegro on Tuesday extradited Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to the United States, where he faces charges of defrauding investors about the stability of the TerraUSD cryptocurrency and how the app used the Terraform blockchain.
Montenegro’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement that Kwon was handed over to U.S. law enforcement officers and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents at Podgorica airport.
Kwon denies committing a crime.
The South Korean national is the former CEO of South Korea-based Terraform Labs, the company behind TerraUSD, a “stablecoin” designed to hold a steady $1 price that collapsed in May 2022, causing turmoil in cryptocurrency markets.
Kwon, who was arrested in March 2023 while trying to leave Montenegro, is also wanted by South Korea.
Last week, Montenegrin Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic ordered Kwon’s extradition to the United States after the Supreme Court ruled on all legal conditions.
The Ministry of Justice said it had concluded that a majority of the legal criteria supported the United States’ request for extradition. His lawyers said they had appealed Bozovic’s decision to the Constitutional Court.
Kwon and his company Terraform Labs were sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2023 over the TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies, which authorities said caused approximately $40 billion in losses in cryptocurrency markets.
A stablecoin is a digital asset that aims to maintain a stable price. They are usually tied to a currency and are designed to be less volatile than other cryptocurrencies.
