Montenegrin Justice Minister Bojan Božović has signed a decision on the extradition of South Korean citizen Do Kwon, the “king of crypto currencies”, to the United States, the Ministry of Justice announced.
The Supreme Court of Montenegro ruled that Božović must decide whether to extradite Kwon to South Korea or the United States.
Do Kwon’s lawyer appealed the ruling.
On October 19, the Constitutional Court of Montenegro suspended the extradition process of the South Korean citizen.
“Taking into account the Supreme Court ruling, the Ministry of Justice considered all facts and circumstances and assessed criteria such as the gravity of the crimes, the place of commission, the order in which the request was submitted, citizenship, the possibility of further extradition to another country, as well as other circumstances,” the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro stated.
It was concluded that most of the criteria provided for by law support the extradition request of the competent authorities of the United States, and the Minister of Justice issued a decision allowing his extradition to the United States, while at the same time refusing extradition to South Korea.
Kwon and his business partner Han Cheng-jun were arrested on March 23 last year at Podgorica Airport when they used forged passports during passport control on a flight to Dubai.
The High Court previously announced that South Korea is seeking Kwon for the criminal offense of unfair trading, fraud and violation of a public offering.
The New York court charges Kwon with multiple crimes, including conspiracy to defraud in connection with the purchase and sale of securities, wire fraud and manipulation of securities prices.
The “King of Cryptocurrencies” is charged with fraud worth 40 billion euros.
