Surprising Court Move to Cancel Do Kwon Extradition Sees Luna and USTC Surge 10%

A surprising move by an appeals court based in Montenegro to reverse Terraform’s co-founder Do Kwon’s extradition has caused a surge in the blockchain’s native tokens, LUNA and USTC. Both coins surged 10% following the official publication of the latest development.

Do Kwon, who was set to be extradited from Montenegro to either the US or South Korea, would now stay in Europe, at least for the time being, till the case is revisited. This is according to a ruling passed by Montenegro’s Appellate Court on December 16, which rejected the judgment passed by the Podgorica High Court in November. 

The High Court alleged that all the terms for Do Kwon’s extradition had been met; hence, the former Terra boss could be extradited. However, the Terraform attorney filed an appeal, leading to a second hearing of the case in the Appellate Court.

Ruling Violated Legal Proceedings

“Deciding on the appeal of the defendant’s counsel, the panel of the Appellate Court assessed that the decision was affected by a significant violation of the provisions of the criminal procedure from Article 386 paragraph 1 item 9 of the CPC, on which violation is reasonably indicated by the appeal of the defendant’s attorneys, because the decision does not have reasons for decisive facts, and the reasons given are unclear, which is the reason for its cancellation,” the ruling stated.

According to the appeals court, the Podgorica High Court failed to listen to the defenses provided by Do Kwon’s attorney, which was a major provision of the law. The ruling also stated that the high court didn’t properly inform the defendants of the reasons behind the extradition; hence, the case should be retried.

Montenegro’s Ministry of Justice would have the final say on the extradition case.

Another LUNA and USTC Surge

Following the official announcement on Tuesday, LUNA and USTC surged, adding 10% in minutes. LUNA moved from $0.9 to $1.02 and USTC from $0.0338 to $0.0371.

The two tokens had mysteriously moved last month by over 75% and 300%, respectively. Although the reason behind the surge remains unknown, speculations linked the pump to a Binance USTC perpetual listing and a possible revival of the network.