Han Chang-joon, the former financial officer of Terraform Labs, has been extradited to South Korea from Montenegro, where he had been held since his arrest in March 2023.
Han Chang-joon, the former financial officer of Terraform Labs, has been extradited to South Korea from Montenegro, where he had been held since his arrest in March 2023. The extradition was confirmed by the Montenegrin police, who stated that Han had been "handed over" to South Korean authorities to face criminal proceedings related to fraud in financial investment services, investments, and the capital market.
Han's extradition comes after he served a four-month prison sentence in Montenegro for attempting to travel with forged documents. He and Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon were arrested at the Podgorica airport in March while trying to escape on a private jet, ending a six-month international manhunt.
The decision to extradite Han was made by Montenegro's Ministry of Justice. His lawyer, Goran Rodic, stated that they are still waiting for a decision on Do Kwon's extradition, which is being appealed. Both US and South Korean prosecutors have demanded Kwon's extradition in relation to the $60 billion collapse of the Terra blockchain in 2022. The collapse of Terra triggered a domino effect of industry implosions, including the liquidations of crypto fund Three Arrows Capital and exchange FTX.
In September 2022, a South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for Kwon and five others, accusing them of violating Korean capital markets laws. Interpol issued a red notice for Kwon's arrest days later.