Do Kwon Extradition Case Sent Back To Lower Court In Montenegro
A legal ruling regarding the fate of crypto mogul Do Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro was returned to a lower court on April 5.
Montenegro’s Supreme Court said it had approved the protection of legality of a prior decision from a lower court approving Kwon’s extradition to South Korea.
Both the United States and South Korea have filed competing claims for Kwon’s extradition, with Montenegro now juggling whose claim to prioritize. Kwon’s legal team is pushing for extradition to South Korea first, where analysts expect he’ll be given a lighter sentence.
Prosecutors claimed the appellate court had violated procedure by rejecting an appeal from Kwon’s legal team on the matter, and instead putting the decision in the Supreme Court’s hands.
The Supreme Court, however, said decisions of this sort are not its responsibility.
“In a situation where it is a matter of competing requests from two states for the extradition of the same person, and not a conflict of requests for the extradition of the same person, as found by the lower courts, the court’s obligation is to determine, in accordance with its powers, whether the legal conditions for extradition have been met the defendant in relation to each petition individually, after which the competent minister, not the court, decides on the permission and order of priority of extradition,” its Friday ruling stated.
The decision on Do Kwon’s extradition will now return to the High Court in Podgorica.
Kwon was first arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for possession of falsified travel documents. Since his short arrest, he has been free to travel within the country until a decision is reached on his extradition case.
Both the United States and South Korea seek justice from Kwon for the
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