Former Terraform Labs CFO Han Chang-joon Extradited to South Korea by Montenegro

Han Chang-joon was charged with carrying falsified travel documents alongside Terra co-founder Do Kwon last year.

AccessTimeIconFeb 5, 2024 at 12:11 p.m. UTC
Updated Mar 8, 2024 at 9:01 p.m. UTC
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Han Chang-joon, the former CFO of Terraform Labs, has been extradited to South Korea by Montenegrin authorities, an official notice from Monday shows.

Han was arrested with Terra co-founder Do Kwon in March 2023 while trying to travel with falsified documents. The two were sentenced to four months in prison by a Montenegro court a few months later.

The two have remained in custody while the country determined where to extradite them. Both the U.S. and South Korea have asked for Kwon to be transferred to their respective jurisdictions to face criminal charges over the collapse of the multibillion-dollar crypto enterprise Terraform Labs in May 2022.

Han was "handed over" to South Korean authorities "for the purpose of conducting criminal proceedings for several criminal offenses related to fraud in financial investment services, investments and the capital market, for which a life sentence is threatened prison in South Korea," according to a Montenegrin police announcement.

The country's appeals court is yet to decide on Kwon's request regarding his extradition, Goran Rodic, counsel for Kwon and Han in Montenegro, told CoinDesk in an email. In January, Kwon appealed a decision by a local court to approve his extradition to either the U.S. or South Korea.

CoinDesk has reached out to Kwon and Han's counsel for further comment.

UPDATE (Feb. 5, 13:25 UTC): Adds comment from counsel for Kwon and Han.

Edited by Sheldon Reback.

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Sandali Handagama

Sandali Handagama is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for policy and regulations, EMEA. She does not own any crypto.


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