Montenegro on Tuesday extradited Do Kwon, former co-founder and CEO of the defunct cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs, to the United States, according to authorities in the Balkan nation.

The extradition follows a decision by Montenegro’s justice ministry to grant the United States’ request, rejecting a competing plea from South Korea.

Officers from Montenegro’s National Central Bureau of Interpol transferred Kwon to FBI agents at the Podgorica Airport border crossing, as confirmed by a police statement.

Kwon was arrested in March 2023 while attempting to leave for Dubai with falsified Costa Rican passports. He had completed a prison sentence in Montenegro for using fake documents.

Kwon faces fraud charges in the United States related to the US$40 billion collapse of Terraform Labs’ cryptocurrency system, which included the stablecoin TerraUSD and its linked token, Luna.

Federal prosecutors in New York have alleged that Kwon and others connected to Terraform were involved in financial crimes tied to the 2022 collapse of these digital currencies.

Recent Terraform Labs developments