Binance Founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao Stuck in U.S. Until Sentencing

Binance
founder
and
former
CEO
Changpeng
Zhao
(CZ)
cannot
return
to
the
United
Arab
Emirates
before
his
sentencing,
a
federal
judge
ruled
Thursday
night.

Zhao,
who
pleaded
guilty
to
one
charge
of
violating
the
Bank
Secrecy
Act
last
month,
is
set
to
be
scheduled
in
February
2024.
He
was
released
on
a
$175
million
personal
recognizance
bond,
putting
up
some
cash
in
escrow
and
having
guarantors
put
up
around
$5
million
worth
of
assets
as
collateral.
While
Zhao’s
bond
originally
allowed
him
to
return
to
the
UAE,
where
he,
his
children
and
his
partner
all
live,
prosecutors
argued
he
was
a
flight
risk
and
should
not
be
permitted
to
leave
the
U.S.

District
Judge
Richard
Jones,
of
the
Western
District
of
Washington,

agreed
with
the
Department
of
Justice.

“The
defendant
has
articulated
justifications
that
in
most
cases
would
cause
the
government’s
motion
to
be
denied,”
the
judge
wrote.
“However,
a
critical
feature
of
the
government’s
motion
is
the
extent
of
the
defendant’s
enormous
wealth
and
absence
of
an
extradition
treaty
with
the
UAE.
In
addition,
the
defendant’s
family
resides
in
the
UAE
and
there
is
no
indication
he
has
any
other
ties
to
the
United
States.
While
the
defendant
has
indicated
he
will
be
asking
for
a
lesser
sentence,
the
government
has
indicated
it
may
be
asking
for
as
much
as
18
months
of
incarceration.
Consequently,
the
defendant
is
not
facing
an
insignificant
sentence.”

Zhao
faces
potentially
up
to
18
months,
though
he
may
serve
as
few
as
10,
the
judge
noted.

Zhao
stepped
down
from
Binance
last
month
after
the
global
crypto
exchange
pleaded
guilty
to
violating
anti-money
laundering
and
money
transmitter
rules.
Binance
agreed
to
pay
a
$4.3
billion
fine
as
part
of
its
own
plea
deal.