The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concurred with a court ruling postponing the trial of former Terraform CEO Do Kwon until March to ensure that both Do Kwon and Terraform Labs are tried together.
Do Kwon’s Trial Pushed Till March
In the latest development in the case of the bankrupt crypto firm Terraform Labs, the trial for its former CEO Do Kwon has been pushed back to April in order to give sufficient time for his extradition from the Montenegran prison where he is currently being held.
The disgraced founder has been charged with fraud and other accusations by the SEC due to his role in the collapse of the now-defunct cryptocurrency TerraLUNA (LUNC) and the stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) in May 2022. He is to face a jury trial initially scheduled for the 29th of January, 2024.
Needs Time For Extradition
However, according to his lawyer, his detention in Montenegro on a prior conviction could hinder his timely arrival in the United States for the trial. Therefore, his legal team filed with the court to push his court date back to March 18, 2024, to give sufficient time for Do Kwon to be extradited to the United States and prepare for the trial.
The filing reads,
“While Mr. Kwon, through his counsel in Montenegro, has made every effort to be extradited from Montenegro as quickly as possible, the process has been slow going and is made more complicated by the dueling requests and the fact that Mr. Kwon is serving a sentence in Montenegro for his conviction on the local charges there.”
His team also promised that if he was unable to meet the new court date, they would not file for another extension.
Court And SEC Agree To Postponement
The request was approved by Judge Jed Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday.
Judge Rakoff ruled,
“Despite Kwon’s representation that he has consented to his extradition from Montenegro, where he is presently being held, there is no absolute guarantee that he will be released in time for his appearance at a late March trial.”
The SEC approved the extension as well and agreed on a court date for mid-April to ensure that both Do Kwon and Terraform Labs are tried in a single trial and not separately. The extension will give Do Kwon’s team sufficient time to wrap up the extradition proceedings in Montenegro and be present for his trial in the United States.
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