Montenegro has extradited Do Kwon, a South Korean entrepreneur often referred to as “the cryptocurrency king,” to the United States on Tuesday. This decision comes after the Montenegrin justice ministry accepted a U.S. request while denying a similar request from South Korea, as confirmed by local authorities.

Police reported that agents from Montenegro’s National Central Bureau of Interpol facilitated the handover of Kwon to FBI officials at the Podgorica Airport. A police statement indicated, “Today, on December 31, 2024, he was officially transferred to the relevant law enforcement agencies of the United States of America, including FBI agents.”

This extradition follows a drawn-out legal process regarding Kwon’s fate. Both South Korea and the U.S. sought his extradition, and Montenegrin courts have deliberated and overturned decisions regarding his transfer to either country over the months.

Kwon, along with another South Korean citizen, was detained in Montenegro in March 2023 while attempting to flee to Dubai with counterfeit Costa Rican passports. He has already faced imprisonment in Montenegro due to the use of the fraudulent document.

In the U.S., Kwon faces fraud charges issued by federal prosecutors in New York, tied to the catastrophic $40 billion collapse of Terraform Labs’ cryptocurrency. This collapse had severe repercussions for retail investors globally.

He, alongside five other individuals associated with Terraform Labs, has been sought under accusations of fraud and financial crimes related to the dramatic decline of their digital currencies in May 2022.

Terraform’s stablecoin, TerraUSD, was intended to maintain its value by being pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar, thereby avoiding significant price fluctuations. However, it suffered a massive fall, wiping out approximately $40 billion in market capitalization for investors holding TerraUSD and its companion cryptocurrency, Luna, as it sank well below its intended $1 peg.