Terra Co-founder Do Kwon Seeks Trial Delay as U.S. Extradition Looms

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd., may face extradition to the United States by mid-March over allegations of orchestrating a $40 billion cryptocurrency fraud scheme, as stated by his attorney. Currently held in custody in Montenegro for using a fake passport, Terra Founder is requesting a delay in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) trial scheduled for January 29. He aims to postpone the civil trial until at least March 18 to enable his participation.

In a filing to the Manhattan federal court on Thursday, Kwon's lawyer, David Patton, noted that the extradition process in Montenegro is nearing completion, and an extradition order could be issued at any moment, potentially bringing Kwon to the United States by mid-March.

Kwon faces extradition requests from both the U.S. and South Korea, both charging him criminally. The decision on which country will receive him will be determined by Montenegrin officials based on their country's laws.

If extradited in March, it would follow shortly after the conviction of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried on fraud charges. The collapse of Terraform's TerraUSD stablecoin, based in Singapore, had significant repercussions in the crypto world in the spring of 2022 and contributed to the downfall of FTX.

Indicted by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which also handled the case against Bankman-Fried, Terra Founder is accused of deceiving investors about various aspects of the Terra blockchain, including its technology and user adoption levels.

Kwon's attorney, Patton, informed U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff that a delay in the SEC trial would provide Kwon with a "realistic possibility" of attending the proceedings.

The case is US v. Terraform Labs, 23-cr-01346, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).