Terraforms Labs CEO Do Kwon has spent the last days of 2024 trying to be extradited to the United States, Reuters reported. Kwon has been charged in the United States with “orchestrating a multibillion-dollar crypto securities fraud using algorithmic stablecoins and other crypto securities.” The Terraforms co-founder has been detained in Montenegro since March 2023, when he tried to board a plane with a fake passport, six months after Interpol issued an arrest warrant.
South Korea-based Terraforms Labs wiped $40 billion from the crypto market when its TerraUSD and Luna stablecoins proved less stable and collapsed in May 2022. Kwon had already fled South Korea the month before.
The United States announced charges in February 2023, with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler saying, “Terraform and Do Kwon have failed to provide the public with the full, fair, and truthful disclosure required of many of the most high-profile crypto securities.” “We allege that we were unable to provide it to the public,” he said. Luna and TerraUSD also allege that they repeatedly defrauded investors by making false and misleading statements to build trust before inflicting catastrophic losses on investors. ” South Korea has also made similar accusations.
Montenegro does not have extradition treaties with the United States or South Korea. The request has been playing out in court for the past year and a half, with Montenegro’s Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic ordering Kwon’s extradition last week. Terraform Labs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in January last year.
