(Bloomberg) -- An attorney for former crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon is looking to challenge the latest decision by a court in Montenegro to hand over the Terraform Labs co-founder to the US instead of his native South Korea, where he is also sought on fraud charges.

“We are convinced that this illegal decision cannot hold before the Appellate Court, just as the previous two didn’t,” Goran Rodic, a lawyer in Podgorica, said in response to Bloomberg questions. Rodic was referring to a protracted legal battle and opposing rulings by two different courts in Montenegro’s capital Podgorica. 

How Do Kwon Went From Crypto King to Fugitive to Jail: QuickTake

The latest High Court decision on Wednesday opted for Kwon’s extradition to US, while turning down South Korea’s request. Rodic said he would appeal as “the court didn’t verify accuracy of facts.” He didn’t elaborate, saying details will be presented in the upcoming appeal

Kwon and his associate Han Chang-joon were arrested in Montenegro almost a year ago while trying to travel with forged passports. Both the US and South Korea have indicted them on charges related to the 2022 implosion of the TerraUSD stablecoin that wiped out at least $40 billion of investor assets and accelerated a crypto market downturn. Montenegro extradited Han Chang-joon to South Korea earlier this month. 

Apart from local sentencing in Montenegro for using fake travel documents, Kwon remains in extradition custody as the authorities deliberate which country to hand him over to. In December, a Podgorica-based appeals court annulled an earlier ruling by Montenegro’s High Court that said extradition was possible to either the US or South Korea.

The Justice Minister still needs to give the final approval for extradition. The government intends to approve extradition to US, according to a person close to the matter, who declined to be identified as the decision isn’t public yet. 

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