Terraform Labs' defense team says extraditing Do Kwon to U.S. for SEC testimony 'impossible'

Defense attorneys argued that Kwon was unable to testify because he was currently being held in a Montenegrin prison.

Terraform Labs' legal defenders have filed a court document seeking to argue that its former CEO Do Kwon cannot be extradited to the United States.

In a Sept. 27 filing, the defense legal team noted that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to send Kwon to the United States by Oct. 13. If the SEC is successful, Kwon will provide testimony in the securities case.

However, lawyers said such a court appearance was "impossible" because Kwon is being held in Montenegro with no scheduled release or extradition date.

Defense attorneys also asked the court to deny the SEC’s request for alternative relief. If successful, the request would prevent Terraform Labs from filing Kwon's declaration for summary judgment. Attorneys said that would violate court rules because the SEC had not previously sought permission to obtain such an order and neither party filed a motion for summary judgment despite the looming deadline.

In the end, attorneys said the SEC misrepresented the evidence to harm Kwon. The SEC claims online discussion logs show Kwon intended to use South Korean payment app Chai to create fake on-chain Terra transactions.

Defense attorneys maintain that the conversations in question actually involved the staking of LUNA to validators and the generation of transactions between LUNA wallets.

Multiple authorities plan to file charges against Kwon

Kwon was previously arrested in Montenegro. In June, he was sentenced to four months in prison for forging travel documents. U.S. and South Korean authorities have each sought to prosecute Kwon for alleged misconduct in the Terra and Luna crypto projects.

The SEC case involves Kwon and his former company, Terraform Labs. The agency opened the civil case in February even though Kwon was not in the United States

Reports in March indicated that Kwon was again facing separate Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal charges in the United States. #SEC #Terra