U.S. judge requests clarification on Do Kwon's potential prison term in South Korea, focusing on multi-country legal risks before sentencing

According to BiJie News, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will be sentenced this Thursday in New York, having previously pleaded guilty to two felonies (wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud). Prior to sentencing, U.S. federal judge Paul Engelmayer requested that both prosecution and defense clarify the charges Kwon faces in South Korea, as well as the “maximum and minimum sentences,” to assess his multi-jurisdictional legal risks. Court documents show the judge wants to know if, after serving his U.S. sentence and being extradited to South Korea, Kwon could be released early and how his detention time in South Korea would be calculated. Kwon’s lawyers stated that if extradited to South Korea, he would re-enter pretrial detention, and if convicted, could face up to 40 years in prison. The documents also note that the judge asked both sides whether they agree that “Kwon’s four months served in Montenegro” should not be credited toward his U.S. sentence, in order to avoid double-counting time served across different jurisdictions. Kwon was detained in Montenegro for using forged travel documents and fought multiple extradition requests there for over a year. U.S. prosecutors are seeking at least 12 years in prison, claiming the scale of losses he caused “exceeds the combined losses caused by SBF, Mashinsky, and OneCoin principal Greenwood.” The defense has recommended a sentence of no more than 5 years. Do Kwon disappeared after the 2022 Terra collapse and was arrested in Montenegro in 2023. He faces charges in both South Korea and the United States, and is expected to face further detention and trial in South Korea after serving his U.S. sentence. The judge is set to make a preliminary sentencing decision on Thursday, but the cross-jurisdictional nature of the case means legal proceedings will likely continue for years to come. (Finance Feeds)