South Korean crypto fugitive Do Kwon was released from prison in Montenegro on Saturday as the Supreme Court deliberates on extradition requests from the United States and South Korea.
“We released Do Kwon from prison because his regular prison sentence for traveling with false documents has ended,” prison director Darko Vukcevic said by telephone. “Since he is a foreign citizen and his documents were withheld, he was taken for an interview to the Police Directorate for Foreigners, where they will deal with him further.”
Kwon’s lawyer, Goran Rodic, also confirmed his release. According to state TV, Kwon’s passport was held to prevent him from leaving the country.
Kwon was transferred to a foreigners’ reception center later on Saturday, state TV reported, citing Rodic, who added that he will appeal to a court, arguing that Kwon should be able to remain free until a decision on extradition will be reached.
Montenegro’s Supreme Court on Friday suspended earlier decisions by lower-level judges to extradite the former cryptocurrency tycoon to South Korea, blocking an attempt to hand over the Terraform Labs Pte co-founder to his home country. Penalties are less severe there than in the United States, where prosecutors want to try Kwon over the $40 billion collapse of algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD in 2022.
The Supreme Court intervened the day after the Balkan country’s top prosecutor, citing procedural errors, challenged the rulings that favored South Korea’s request. Extradition to both countries is now possible only after further deliberations by the court, which offered no time frame for a final decision when it announced its move Friday.