Do Kwon to be released on house arrest, extradition process halted as prosecutor cites ‘procedural errors’

Terra executive Do Kwon is set to be released on house arrest by Montenegrin court order. It comes after the country’s Supreme Court officially confirmed that the South Korean citizen's passport has been revoked.

Kwon is wanted in connection to the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin in 2022.

Specifically, the South Korean citizen will leave the prison in Spuz on Saturday but will be stripped of his travel documents by order of the Higher Court in Podgorica, the news from the Higher Court confirmed. According to this information, the court issued a seizure of a valid passport as a security measure.

The Supreme Court Council had issued a ruling earlier today to delay the extradition of Kwon.

Also Read: South Korea beats the US to Do Kwon extradition as court cites ‘first-come-first-serve’

Do Kwon extradition suspended pending Supreme Court judgement

Local Montenegrin media also reports that the country’s Supreme Court Council has issued a ruling delaying the extradition of Hyeong Do Kwon to South Korea. This is pending a decision on the supreme state prosecutor's application for the protection of legality.

The Council of the Montenegro Supreme Court decided on the proposal to postpone the execution of the Higher Court's decision of March 6 and the decision of the Court of Appeals of March 20, submitted with the request for the protection of legality.

"... it issued a decision ordering the postponement of the above-mentioned decision on the extradition of the defendant Kwon Do Hyeonga to the Republic of South Korea, at the request of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of South Korea, dated March 24, 2023, until the decision on the submitted request for the protection of legality is made," the Supreme Court said in a statement.

In the explanation of the decision, the Council requested to postpone the execution of the decisions of the Higher Court (composed of lower-level judges compared to those in the Supreme Court) in Podgorica and the Appellate Court until the decision was made on the submitted application for the protection of legality.

The Council said, decided on the proposal to postpone the execution of the Higher Court's decision of March 6 and the decision of the Court of Appeals of March 20, submitted with the request for the protection of legality.

The request essentially states that lower-level courts have found that the legal prerequisites for extraditing Do Kwon to South Korea have been met. It also acknowledges that the defendant has given his consent for the extradition to be carried out in a simplified procedure.

Prosecutors office files request for legality

The Supreme State Prosecutor's Office on Thursday filed a request for legality before the Supreme Court. This followed the decision of the Court of Appeals to uphold the decision of the Higher Court in Podgorica, allowing extradition of Kwon in summary proceedings, at the request of South Korea, and refusing extradition at the request of the United States of America.

The request for the protection of legality was also raised because the Appellate Court did not hear the State Prosecutor in the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office in the appeal proceedings. This is contrary to the provisions of the Law on International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and the Law on State Prosecutor's Office.

The law stipulates that only the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office acts before the Appellate Court. As such, it violated the provisions of the criminal procedure, and which was the influence of making a lawful court decision.

The Supreme State Prosecutor's Office proposed to the Supreme Court to determine that the request for protection of legality was well founded and to issue a verdict that would reverse the Court's decision.

The Appeals Court rejected the appeal of Do Kwon's defense counsel on March 20 and upheld the decision of the Higher Court in Podgorica of March 6.

The first instance decision of the High Court allowed extradition in summary proceedings to Do Kwon for prosecution for several crimes at the request of South Korea, while the extradition of this defendant was rejected in summary proceedings at the request of the US.