The fugitive cryptocrash boss has finally been extradited to the United States

A South Korean man accused of responsibility for a cryptocurrency crisis that cost investors $40bn (£31.8bn) has finally been extradited to the US.

Do Kwon was the president of Terraform, which ran two cryptocurrencies — TerraUSD and Luna — both of which collapsed in 2022, triggering a massive sell-off in the cryptocurrency market.

The United States says he is responsible for the currency failure, accusing him of “coordinating a multi-billion-dollar crypto-asset securities fraud.”

Kwon fled South Korea after an arrest warrant was issued for him, and eventually ended up in Montenegro where he has now been extradited, after a long legal battle.

He was previously convicted by a Montenegrin court of forging documents, after he was arrested while trying to board a flight to Dubai in March 2023.

It was not clear whether he would face criminal proceedings in the United States, because Montenegro does not have extradition treaties with the United States or South Korea, which is also seeking his extradition.

Finally, Kwon’s sending to the United States ends legal proceedings that have lasted more than 18 months.

Montenegro’s Ministry of Justice approved the extradition earlier in December.

She claimed that Do Kwon also approved of it.

Kwon’s company Terraform Labs became widely known in 2021, when its Luna and TerraUSD coins exploded in popularity.

Luna lovers They became known as “the crazy ones.”referring to Kwon as “their king.”

But, despite pumping a huge amount of money into the coins, on May 9, 2022, Terraform Labs collapsed catastrophically, losing more than 99% of its value in 48 hours.

Investors were quick to withdraw their money from other cryptocurrencies, fearing that something similar might happen to them, leading to a significant decline in values ​​across the entire sector.

It is estimated that the so-called ‘Cryptocrash’ led to losses worth $400bn (£318bn).

Bitcoin was among the assets affected, but its value has increased significantly since then It briefly stopped at more than $100,000 per coin In December.

Terraform Labs eventually filed for bankruptcy in the United States in January 2024.