Jury finds crypto mogul Kwon liable in U.S. civil fraud trial: reports

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Yonhap) — A jury in New York found crypto mogul Do Kwon and his company, Terraform Labs, liable on civil fraud charges on Friday, news outlets reported, as he is in Montenegro pending a process to determine whether he should be extradited to his home country, South Korea, or the United States.

The jury agreed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Kwon and the company misled investors before TerraUSD stablecoin’s collapse in 2022, according to Reuters and other outlets.

The jury’s verdict in Manhattan federal court came amid uncertainty over where he would be extradited as Kwon is wanted by both South Korea and the U.S on charges related to the crypto crash.

The top court in Montenegro decided Friday to scrap an earlier decision to extradite Kwon to Korea and sent the case back to a lower court, according to Montenegrin daily Vijesti.

Last month, the top court decided to defer Kwon’s extradition to Korea after the top prosecutors’ office made a request to review whether the procedures that led to the extradition decision were legal.

Kwon was captured at an airport in Montenegro in March last year when he was reportedly trying to board a plane bound for the United Arab Emirates on a forged passport. He had been on the loose after fleeing Korea amid a probe in connection with the crypto debacle.

South Korean prosecutors have sought the extradition of Kwon on allegations related to the crash of Terraform Labs’ TerraUSD and Luna coins in May 2022. The crash was estimated to have wiped out nearly 50 trillion won (US$37 billion) in market value.