When the U.S. government announced that it would continue to pursue extradition to the Montenegrin judicial authorities regarding the Montenegrin judicial authorities’ decision to extradite Kwon Do-hyung, a key figure in the cryptocurrency Terra Luna crash, to Korea, Kwon’s lawyer raised objections in both the U.S. and Korea. He countered that he had no authority to do so.
Mr. Kwon’s local legal representative, lawyer Goran Rodić Mariya Radulovic, argued that neither the United States nor Korea had the opportunity to appeal the decision of the Montenegrin Podgorica High Court to extradite Mr. Kwon to his home country, Montenegrin daily Vijesti reported on the 9th ( local time) reported.
The U.S. Department of Justice said it would appeal the Podgorica High Court’s decision to extradite Kwon to South Korea. This decision was made on the 7th, and Kwon’s appeal deadline ends on the 11th. If there is no appeal, the court’s decision becomes final, and Kwon can be extradited immediately after the deadline.
In response, the U.S. Department of Justice said the night before, “The United States continues to request Mr. Kwon’s extradition in accordance with relevant international and bilateral agreements and Montenegrin law,” and added, “The United States appreciates the cooperation of Montenegrin authorities to ensure the rule of law for all individuals.” revealed.
In response, Mr. Kwon’s lawyer argued in a statement sent to BJST on the 9th, “Under the law regulating extradition procedures, the United States and Korea have no opportunity or right to appeal against the High Court’s decision.”
He went on to explain, “Both the European Extradition Convention and the Extradition Convention between Montenegro and the United States stipulate that the extradition process be conducted in accordance with domestic law (International Legal Assistance Act on Criminal Matters).”
Bjesti reported that even Montenegrin prosecutors have no right to appeal. The Podgorica High Prosecutor’s Office appealed the High Court’s decision to extradite Kwon to the United States, but the appeals court rejected the appeal on the grounds that “the state prosecutor does not have the authority to do so.”
The U.S. Embassy in Montenegro did not provide an official statement in response to Vijesti’s inquiry about whether it would appeal the Podgorica High Court’s decision. Montenegro’s Foreign Ministry also did not comment on how the decision would affect relations between the United States and Montenegro, Bjesti said.
The Korean Ministry of Justice said in a text message sent to Byesti, “We have not yet received official notification from Montenegro (the government),” and “We plan to take necessary measures with the Montenegrin authorities as soon as the relevant documents are received.”
Previously, the Montenegrin Court of Appeals accepted Mr. Kwon’s appeal on the 5th, invalidated the Podgorica High Court’s decision to extradite the criminal to the United States, and sent the case back to the first trial court.
The Court of Appeal ruled that there were serious violations of the Criminal Procedure Code in relation to the decision of the Podgorica High Court. In particular, it was determined that there was a problem in determining the facts regarding the order of arrival of the extradition request.
According to the Act on International Criminal Legal Assistance, the submission date of the extradition request is one of the criteria for determining which country has priority for extradition when multiple countries submit extradition requests.
The appeals court pointed out that Korea submitted an extradition request written in English on March 24 and sent it again in Montenegrin two days later. On the other hand, the United States filed an extradition request on March 27, a day later, and pointed out that even this was a request for temporary detention, not extradition of a criminal.
The Terra/Luna incident is an incident in which the price of the sister coin Luna, which supported Terra’s price, also plummeted as the algorithmic stable coin Terra lost its peg with the dollar. Large coins that once had a market capitalization of over 50 trillion won plummeted, causing numerous victims at home and abroad.
It is known that he left the country at the end of April 2022, just before the Terra/Luna coin crash, stayed in Singapore, where the company is headquartered, and then fled to Serbia in Eastern Europe via the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in September of the same year.
Later, in March 2023, he was arrested at Podgorica Airport in Montenegro while trying to board a private plane to Dubai using a forged Costa Rican passport.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.