Do Kwon seeks US court approval to delay Terra trial until mid-March
Do Kwon, ex-CEO of Terra, is seeking to delay the SEC trial against him and his former company so he can attend the trial.
Kwon’s legal team has officially asked a US court to defer the trial, citing uncertainties about his extradition process from Montenegro.
Legal documents submitted on Jan. 11 reveal that Kwon’s extradition is encountering delays, with his defense team estimating his arrival in the US might not occur until February or March. This has led to the request for a delay in the trial, which was initially set to begin at the end of January.
In a scenario where the court refuses to delay the trial, Kwon’s lawyers have suggested that the jury should be advised not to view his absence and inability to testify as unfairly detrimental to his case.
Kwon’s extradition has been a subject of legal contention, with his team successfully challenging a Montenegro high court’s decision to extradite him to the US or South Korea. The Appeals Court called for a retrial due to procedural discrepancies.
The filing also notes that the final decision on extradition rests not with the court, which only assesses the legal basis for extradition, but rather with the Montenegrin Minister of Justice.
The case has garnered attention within the cryptocurrency community, with some speculating about potential corruption in Montenegro’s legal system influencing Kwon’s extradition proceedings.
Kwon faces allegations of fraud linked to the downfall of TerraUSD (UST) and LUNA, now known as LUNC tokens. The event led to the collapse of the Terra crypto project in May 2022, inflicting a staggering $60 billion loss on the crypto community.
In late November, Podgorica’s highest court approved Kwon’s extradition following requests from South Korean and American authorities. The decision regarding his final destination – the US or South Korea – was to be made by Montenegro’s Minister of Justice.
Montenegro had initially planned to extradite Kwon to the US. In the middle of December, it became known that the High Court of Montenegro extended Kwon’s detention.
Meanwhile, in the US, both Kwon and the SEC have sought summary judgments in their legal dispute, each party calling for a federal judge to rule in their favor without a full trial. They argue that the other side has failed to provide substantial evidence for their claims.
The SEC has also referenced the Terraform case in its ongoing legal actions against Binance and Coinbase, utilizing it to reinforce their position.
