Montenegro Plans to Extradite Fallen Crypto Tycoon Do Kwon to U.S.

Montenegro’s top justice official has privately said he plans to send disgraced crypto tycoon Do Kwon to the U.S. rather than South Korea to face criminal charges, people familiar with the matter said.

Kwon—who has been jailed in the Balkan country since March—has been the focus of an international tug-of-war as both the U.S. and South Korea seek his extradition. Prosecutors in both countries want to put Kwon on trial for fraud and securities-law violations in connection with the $40 billion crash of his TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies in May 2022. Kwon is a South Korean citizen.

A Montenegro court last month approved Kwon’s extradition, but left it up to Justice Minister Andrej Milovic to decide whether to send him to the U.S. or South Korea. Milovic has not yet announced his decision and is unlikely to do so until the country’s courts have ruled on a last-ditch appeal by Kwon against the court ruling.