Do Kwon, a co-founder of Terraform Labs, has asked the Southern District of New York United States District Court to push back his trial date until March. He cites difficulties obtaining extradition from Montenegro as justification for the motion.Kwon’s attorneys wrote to Judge Jed Rakoff on January 11th, expressing their desire for Kwon to personally attend the trial, which is set for January 29th.But they had assumed that by now Kwon would have been granted permission to return to the United States.
“Mr. Kwon wishes to attend his trial. Counsel had hoped the extradition proceedings in Montenegro would proceed more quickly than they have.”
The SEC accused Kwon of participating in the planning of a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency securities scam and filed fraud charges against him in February 2023.
The accusations included the demise of the corresponding token, Terra (LUNA), and stablecoin, TerraUSD (USTC), both from Terraform Labs.Although acknowledging the importance of the case, Kwon’s attorneys stated that he would not be able to attend the trial this month.
“We understand the Court cannot put the trial on hold indefinitely, but an adjournment until mid-March would provide a realistic possibility for Mr. Kwon to attend,” the letter stated.
The High Court of Podgorica’s ruling authorizing Kwon’s extradition to the United States or South Korea was overturned by the Appellate Court of Montenegro, according to a December 2023 Cointelegraph story.This is in response to rumors that, only one week prior, South Korean and American authorities were asking to keep Kwon in custody for an extra two months after his sentence was up.Both the U.S. and South Korea are pursuing Kwon’s extradition.Growing rumors have suggested that Kwon might receive multiple sentences in both nations.In March 2023, Kwon attempted to leave the country using forged travel documents and was apprehended in Montenegro.