Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon’s extradition to the US was annulled by the Appellate Courtroom of Montenegro, in accordance with a Mar. 5 discover on the Courtroom’s web site.
This growth happens amid bankrupt Terraform Labs’ current authorized wrangle with the US SEC.
Why was Kwon’s extradition annulled?
In line with the Courtroom, the Excessive Courtroom of Podgorica’s determination to permit Kwon to be extradited to the US for legal prosecution violated the nation’s legal process provisions.
One other argument central to Kwon’s profitable attraction was the dedication of extradition precedence. Regardless of Kwon’s desire for South Korea, the Excessive Courtroom in Podgorica dominated in favor of an extradition to the US. This determination was primarily based on the priority of the US extradition request, which was acquired a day sooner than South Korea’s request.
Nonetheless, the Appellate Courtroom challenged this ruling. It identified that the US non permanent detention request arrived on Mar. 27, 2023, after South Korea’s extradition request. South Korea’s request had been communicated by way of emails on Mar. 24, 2023, and Mar. 26, 2023 — previous the formal request on Mar. 28, 2023.
As such, the appeals court docket decided that the case needs to be returned to the Courtroom of first occasion for retrial.
Kwon’s extradition has dragged on for a number of months, with each the US and South Korea searching for trials inside their jurisdiction. Authorities in each international locations need Kwon to reply for his function within the collapse of Terra’s algorithmic UST stablecoin, which wiped over $40 billion from the crypto business.
Terraform Labs slam SEC’s overreach
The SEC not too long ago opposed Terraform Labs’ $166 million cost to Dentons, contending that the agency shouldn’t have interaction the legislation agency or cowl authorized bills for workers amidst chapter proceedings.
In a March 4 submitting, Terraform Labs responded to the SEC’s opposition to the $166 million retainer charge paid to legislation agency Dentons.
The bankrupt crypto agency criticized the SEC’s objection for example of presidency overreach. It additionally asserted that the regulator’s transfer aimed to disrupt proceedings earlier than trial.
In line with the agency:
“The SEC’s objection, framed as a creditor concern, is a pretext for its true motive: to drawback and distract an adversary on the eve of trial.”
The agency urged the court docket to dismiss the SEC’s objections, citing them as containing authorized misinterpretations and factual inaccuracies.
