(Bloomberg) -- Montenegro’s Appellate Court confirmed a ruling that South Korea’s extradition demand for disgraced crypto mogul Do Kwon has priority over a similar demand by US where prosecutors also want to try him for the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD stable coin in 2022.

With the latest development, Kwon’s extradition may take place as early as this weekend when his local prison sentence, handed by Montenegro authorities for using forged documents, expires. 

The Appellate Court backed an earlier decision by High Court, also in Podgorica, the capital of the tiny Balkan state where Do Kwon was caught last year after hiding from justice. The High Court was right to decide earlier this month in favor of South Korea as its request for Do Kwon was lodged first, “along with other criteria,” according to a statement from the court. Detailed reasoning is yet to be published, it said.

It’s a win for Do Kwon and his defense team who prefer extradition to South Korea where penalties for white-collar crimes are lower there than in the US. Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for traveling on a fake passport, along with his associate Han Chang-joon, who was handed over to South Korea last month. 

“This is final and there are no more complaints,” Kwon’s lawyer in Montenegro, Goran Rodic, wrote in a text message. Next up is the actual handover, which requires co-ordination between justice ministries of South Korea and Montenegro, and the respective police officials, according to Rodic. 

“We are satisfied with the decision by the Appellate Court which proved with its work that it respects the rule of law,” Rodic said.

Read more: US to Fight Do Kwon Extradition to South Korea: Crypto in DC

But even if Kwon is extradited to South Korea, the government there could still reach a deal with the US to have him tried in New York first. The US could argue that it has a stronger ability to seize Kwon’s assets around the world and agree to share them with South Korea.  

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

(Updates from comment from lawyer, from fifth paragraph)

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