Do Kwon may face prison time in US, South Korea amid tight extradition race

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As the battle for Do Kwon’s extradition heats up, a South Korean prosecutor has suggested that the Terraform Labs CEO could serve jail time in multiple jurisdictions.

In an interview with Bloomberg, senior South Korean prosecutor Dan Sunghan revealed that there is a possibility for the embattled founder to serve sentences in the U.S. and South Korea. Sunghan noted that if the South Korean justice system does not consider the U.S. charges, Kwon could be shipped to the U.S. to answer his crimes.

At the moment, Kwon is under house arrest in Montenegro, where he was apprehended after a 12-month international manhunt following the sudden collapse of the Terra ecosystem. Kwon is currently facing criminal charges for possessing fake travel documents, an offense that could see him face up to five years in a Montenegrin jail.

Amid the legal drama in Montenegro, U.S. and South Korean officials are jostling to secure Kwon’s extradition to their jurisdiction. Sunghan disclosed to Bloomberg that sending Kwon to South Korea is the most rational decision to recover damages and bring justice to thousands of victims.

“This is the largest financial fraud or financial securities fraud case that has ever happened in South Korea,” said Sunghan. “The most efficient way to get justice is to have the investigation and trial take place in South Korea.”

The prosecutor argued that South Korean authorities have painstakingly collated damning evidence against Kwon that could put him behind bars for over 40 years. He pointed out that local prosecutors have indicted several of Kwon’s associates, seizing assets worth millions believed to be the proceeds of crime.

South Korean investigators uncovered a block of flats belonging to Kwon, an office complex, a fleet of foreign cars, and a lump sum in the form of securities. The total estimate of the confiscated property has been valued at over $176 million, with authorities uncovering an additional $7 million paid to his lawyers in the weeks leading up to the de-pegging of stablecoin TerraUSD.

Meanwhile, Kwon’s legal team in Montenegro scored small wins after successfully applying for bail from the trial court, to the dismay of prosecutors. A valiant appeal at the Supreme Court contesting the bail fell flat, with Kwon subjected to a house arrest ahead of his defense of fake passport charges.

Montenegro officials say that Kwon will answer for his crimes in Montenegro before facing extradition to either the U.S. or South Korea. With extradition requests spanning up to nine months for processing, Kwon is bracing himself for an incoming legal scuffle on either side of the Pacific.

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