South Korea appears to have requested the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Kwon Do-hyeong from Montenegro before the U.S. as both countries seek to put him on trial for fraud that erased 40 billion dollars from the cryptocurrency market.

According to diplomatic authorities and the legal community on Thursday, South Korea's justice ministry requested the extradition of the South Korean national widely known as Do Kwon on March 24, about a day earlier than U.S. authorities and one day after his arrest.

The revelation contradicts an earlier report by the Montenegrin daily, Vijesti, that the U.S. requested extradition before South Korea, citing a press briefing by the justice minister of the southeastern European country.

The minister said that the local court proceedings in which Kwon is facing charges for possession of false documents takes precedence over extradition, which could further delay Kwon’s return to South Korea if he is convicted.

Whether Kwon will be sent to South Korea or the U.S. is not even clear, with local authorities explaining that multiple factors will be considered, including the severity, location and time of the offense as well as the order in which extradition requests were received.