The Supreme Court of Montenegro has overturned a decision from the lower courts regarding the extradition of Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, to either the United States or South Korea.

According to a notice on April 5, Montenegro’s Supreme Court approved a request for a protection of legality against a lower court ruling that would have allowed Kwon’s extradition to South Korea. Prosecutors argued that the appellate court had violated procedures by rejecting an appeal from Kwon’s legal team, thus escalating the matter to the Supreme Court for the final decision.

The Supreme Court stated that in cases where two states are competing for the extradition of the same individual, the court’s responsibility is to assess whether the legal requirements for extradition have been fulfilled for each request separately. The decision regarding Kwon's extradition will now be sent back to the High Court in Podgorica, where it will be determined whether the Terraform co-founder will be extradited to the U.S. or South Korea. Kwon, who faces charges in both countries, has been in Montenegro since his arrest in March 2023 for using forged travel documents and is allowed to move freely within Montenegro until a final decision is made on his extradition case.

In Kwon's absence, attorneys representing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have proceeded with a jury trial against Terraform and the co-founder in March, incorporating some of Kwon's previous statements into the trial records. Meanwhile, Terraform Labs’ former chief financial officer, Han Chang-joon, who was also arrested in March 2023, has been extradited to South Korea, where authorities have indicted several individuals associated with Terraform Labs, including co-founder Hyun-seong Shin.