Do Kwon’s Extradition Likely to Take Time, Montenegrin Prosecutor Says

A prosecutor investigating Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon for alleged passport forgery in Montenegro has indicated that he won’t be extradited quickly. The legislation enforcement official informed South Korean media that Montenegrin authorities intend to indict Kwon inside a month, ruling out the potential of him being handed over to different international locations throughout the detention interval.

Passport Forgery Investigation Takes Precedence Over Extradition Requests in Do Kwon’s Case

It could take a while earlier than an extradition course of begins for Do Kwon, the South Korean Yonhap information company reported, quoting the prosecutor engaged on the case of the Terraform Labs co-founder who was lately arrested in Montenegro.

Judicial condemnation of crimes which have taken place in Montenegro’s jurisdiction is a precedence for the authorities within the small Balkan nation, Haris Šabotić said in an interview within the Montenegrin capital Podgorica on Monday.

Šabotić is answerable for the native investigation towards Kwon for alleged forging of paperwork. The chief government of the corporate behind the failed stablecoin terrausd and cryptocurrency luna was detained on March 23 whereas attempting to board a flight to Dubai utilizing a pretend Costa Rican passport.

Kwon Do-Hyung, as is his full identify in Korean, disappeared after departing for Singapore in April, 2022, proper earlier than the collapse of the 2 cash ust and terra. He then fled to Serbia, the place he reportedly registered a brand new agency, earlier than finally ending up in neighboring Montenegro.

The prosecutor famous that the allegations of counterfeiting are topic to an ongoing investigation, rejecting earlier media reviews that Kwon has already been indicted. Following a 72-hour preliminary detention, a Montenegrin court docket extended the measure to 30 days.

The purpose is to indict Kwon inside that interval, Haris Šabotić additional famous. “We don’t know how the situation will develop after the indictment, but what is clear is that there is no possibility that the detainee will be handed over for 30 days,” he added.

South Korea, the United States, and Singapore are all attempting to safe Kwon’s extradition. While Šabotić declined to debate the matter intimately because it’s less than the prosecution to resolve on the requests, he emphasised that the pretend passport case investigation can be prioritized, noting:

We can transfer on to the following step solely after the prosecution of this case is over. We should not within the problem of extradition.

If convicted of forgery of official paperwork, Do Kwon could obtain as much as 5 years in jail, in accordance with Montenegro’s legislation. “If we bring charges within 30 days, the court will decide,” Šabotić stated within the interview that came about on the District Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica. Kwon is at present held within the Spuž detention middle close to the Montenegrin capital.

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