Binance
founder
and
former
CEO
Changpeng
“CZ”
Zhao
has
been
released
from
custody
on
a
$175
million
personal
recognizance
bond.
Zhao
pleaded
guilty
to
violating
the
Bank
Secrecy
Act
in
court
earlier
on
Tuesday,
after
federal
officials
alleged
he
directed
Binance
to
allow
U.S.
customers
to
use
the
platform
without
conducting
proper
know-your-customer
or
anti-money
laundering
checks.
According
to
a
court
filing,
he’s
posting
$15
million
held
in
a
trust
account
by
Davis
Wright
Tremaine
(separate
from
the
bond)
and
agreeing
to
forfeit
funds
if
he
violates
the
terms
of
his
release.
He’s
also
finding
two
guarantors,
who
are
pledging
$250,000
and
$100,000
respectively.
A
sentencing
hearing
has
been
scheduled
for
Feb.
23,
2024,
at
9
a.m.
Pacific
Time.
The
terms
of
Zhao’s
release
bar
him
from
breaking
the
law,
tempering
with
witnesses
or
victims
or
taking
any
non-prescribed
controlled
substances
–
normal
provisions
in
a
bond
release.
The
order
also
appears
to
allow
Zhao
to
leave
the
U.S.,
saying
he
has
to
return
14
days
prior
to
sentencing,
though
federal
prosecutors
said
during
a
hearing
earlier
on
Tuesday
that
they
wanted
to
appeal
that
provision
to
a
more
senior
judge.
Zhao
agreed
to
remain
in
the
Seattle
area
until
Monday,
Nov.
27,
allowing
DOJ
lawyers
and
his
attorneys
to
hash
out
that
disagreement
with
the
district
judge
overseeing
the
case.
Because
Zhao
pleaded
guilty
pursuant
to
an
agreement,
he
waived
his
right
to
appeal
any
sentence
over
18
months,
Magistrate
Judge
Brian
Tsuchida
said
in
court
Tuesday.
According
to
another
court
filing,
the
DOJ
and
Zhao
agreed
to
a
$50
million
fine,
but
no
prison
time
was
mentioned.
Zhao
resigned
from
Binance,
the
exchange
he
founded
in
2017,
as
part
of
the
company’s
settlement
with
the
U.S.
Department
of
Justice
on
Tuesday.
Binance
will
pay
$4.3
billion
in
penalties
to
various
federal
agencies
and
allow
multiple
monitors
to
oversee
its
operations
through
the
next
five
years.
Alongside
the
DOJ,
Binance
settled
charges
with
the
Financial
Crimes
Enforcement
Network
(FinCEN),
Office
of
Foreign
Asset
Control
(OFAC)
and
Commodity
Futures
Trading
Commission
–
respectively,
the
U.S.’s
money
laundering
watchdog,
sanctions
watchdog
and
federal
commodities
regulator.
“This
is
one
of
the
largest
penalties
we
have
ever
obtained
from
a
corporate
defendant
in
a
criminal
matter,”
Attorney
General
Merrick
Garland
said
during
a
press
conference
on
Tuesday.
UPDATE
(Nov.
22,
2023,
01:15
UTC):
Adds
clarifying
detail
about
whether
Zhao
can
leave
the
country.