The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Terra developer Terraform Labs and founder Do Kwon in February last year, accusing the defendants of planning crypto-asset "securities" fraud and violating the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act. The case The trial was originally scheduled to begin on January 29 in Manhattan Federal Court.
However, Do Kwon, who is currently detained in Montenegro (Republic of Montenegro), his defense lawyer submitted documents to the court on the 11th of this month, seeking to postpone the trial of the case until mid-March on the grounds that Do Kwon is not sure when he will be released from prison. Montenegro was extradited to the United States and is not expected to arrive there until February or March this year at the earliest, hoping to appear in court in person.
SEC agrees to delay trial
The SEC submitted documents to the court on the 15th, agreeing to Do Kwon’s request to postpone the trial date to no earlier than March 18:
The SEC agreed to Do Kwon's request for a modest adjournment so that he could participate in the trial, and if the trial date is postponed, the SEC respectfully requests that the trial begin on April 15, 2024.
Although the SEC agreed to postpone the trial, it opposed separate trials of Do Kwon's case from the Terraform Labs case, emphasizing that the two cases were effectively the same and that holding two trials would unnecessarily require whistleblowers and retail investors with limited financial resources. Investors, testified twice about the same facts.
Reuters reported that U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff will decide whether to change the trial date. Do Kwon's lawyer said on Monday that if Do Kwon is unable to attend the new trial date, he will not seek a further delay.
Do Kwon appeals again against Montenegrin court ruling
At the same time, Do Kwon’s lawyer told CoinDesk that Do Kwon has once again appealed against the Montenegro High Court’s decision to support the extradition requests of the United States and South Korea, and pointed out that the local court is obviously facing political pressure for Do Kwon to be extradited to the United States or South Korea.
Both South Korean prosecutors and the U.S. government are seeking to prioritize the extradition of Do Kwon for trial. Originally, the Montenegro High Court approved the extradition request in November last year, and the country's attorney general decided whether to extradite to the United States or South Korea. Do Kwon later successfully appealed and overturned the request. However, the High Court ruled again on December 29 last year that the extradition request was legal.
Do Kwon's lawyer mentioned that Do Kwon is now waiting for a new ruling from the Court of Appeal. He alleged that the High Court's ruling "seriously violates the law, the European Convention on Extradition and the bilateral extradition treaty with the United States" and that the court is also facing political pressure. , these are not good for Do Kwon.
