The former CFO of Terraform Labs was sent back to South Korea, while Do Kwon awaits his trial date, which is scheduled for March 2024.
The first step in the former Terraform Labs executives’ extradition occurred. Han Chang-Joon, the former CFO of Terraforms Labs, has been extradited to South Korea.
While the status of Do Kwon, the former CEO of the infamous crypto company, remains unknown, observers believe he is most likely to be extradited to the United States instead of South Korea.
The decision to formally announce the extradition verdict is still pending as Do Kwon managed to get an extension on his trial, which is set to take place on March 25, 2024.
Even though Kwon has committed most of his crimes in South Korea, the US authorities still seek the first chance to put him on trial for various natures of financial crimes he has committed in his capacity as the CEO of Terraform Labs, chief among them are defrauding investors and violating securities laws.
Meanwhile, the former CFO of Terraform labs, Han Chang-Joon, has been extradited from Montenegro, where he was hiding with Do Kwon, and taken to his native country of South Korea, where he will now face charges filed against him by the Korean authorities.
Police officials from South Korea issued a press statement stating that Chang-Joon was flown back to South Korea, but they only used his initials, JCH, in the statement, meaning they didn’t want to disclose his identity to the press then. However, an insider authority confirmed to Reuters that the person extradited was indeed Chang-Joon.
He was arrested with Do Kwon at the Montenegrin airport in the capital city of Podgorica, where he, along with Kwon, was trying to flee the country using fake credentials. They were carrying forged Costa Rica passports and were aiming to board a private jet to Dubai, but their plan was foiled by the authorities at the airport.
According to a statement from the Montenegro police: “JCH was today handed over to the competent judicial and police authorities of South Korea by NCB Interpol Podgorica officers and the Special Police Unit to conduct criminal proceedings for several criminal offenses related to fraud.”
One eye-opening statement the Montenegrin police gave was that Han was given to the Korean authorities, who will take him back to his country, where he will be sentenced to life imprisonment. The statement sounded extremely harsh, given the Korean newspaper previously stated that the maximum sentence Do Kwon would be subjected to was 40 years in prison.
Perhaps they misjudged how harshly the Korean authorities would charge Han since he didn’t commit crimes of a more aggressive nature than Do Kwon himself.
Han and Kwon were imprisoned for four months in Montenegro for forging their travel documents.
Before their arrest, they had been residing in Serbia, where Kwon had established a business, despite being sought by Interpol with a Red Notice issued in South Korea.
Following their apprehension, there have been conflicting requests for Kwon’s extradition, but he remains detained in Montenegro.
While the official verdict has not been given, Justice Minister Andrej Milović in Montenegro was reportedly quoted by different press media personnel that the country would hand over Kwon to US authorities.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has supported Kwon’s plea to postpone proceedings in its case against Terraform Labs and Kwon until his presence is secured.
Previously, the SEC had sought a summary judgment in November, which was unsuccessful. Terraform Labs, the subject of the complaint, filed for bankruptcy in the United States on January 21, 2024.
During his trial for fraud in South Korea, Terraform Labs co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong, also known as Daniel Shin, attributed the collapse of Terraform to the protocol’s operation and “external attacks” conducted by Do-hyung Kwon, more commonly known as Do Kwon.
