A
federal
judge
accepted
Binance
founder
Changpeng
“CZ”
Zhao’s
guilty
plea
to
one
count
of
violating
the
Bank
Secrecy
Act,
but
has
not
yet
weighed
in
on
whether
Zhao
can
go
back
to
the
United
Arab
Emirates
before
he
is
sentenced
in
February.
Federal
Judge
Richard
Jones,
of
the
U.S.
District
Court
for
the
Western
District
of
Washington,
accepted
the
plea
on
Wednesday,
just
over
two
weeks
after
Zhao
and
Binance,
the
exchange
he
founded,
pleaded
guilty
to
various
violations
tied
to
poor
anti-money
laundering
practices
at
the
world’s
largest
crypto
exchange.
Zhao
stepped
down
from
his
role
as
CEO
of
the
exchange
as
part
of
the
guilty
pleas.
“This
Court,
having
considered
the
Report
and
Recommendation
of
the
United
States
Magistrate
Judge,
to
which
there
has
been
no
timely
objection
…
hereby
accepts
the
plea
of
guilty
of
the
defendant
…
the
defendant
is
adjudged
guilty
of
such
offense,”
the
judge
wrote.
“All
parties
shall
appear
before
this
Court
for
sentencing
as
directed.”
Sentencing
is
currently
scheduled
for
Feb.
23,
2024.
Zhao
has
been
released
on
bond
ahead
of
that
date,
though
prosecutors
have
asked
that
he
be
required
to
stay
in
the
U.S.
through
sentencing.
The
Binance
founder’s
attorneys
have
argued
that
Zhao
is
not
a
flight
risk,
and
should
be
allowed
to
return
to
the
UAE,
where
his
family
is,
until
February.
Under
the
current
terms
of
his
bond
release,
Zhao
would
be
allowed
to
go
back,
but
must
return
to
the
U.S.
two
weeks
prior
to
sentencing.
Judge
Jones
stayed
that
part
of
Zhao’s
release
last
week
until
he
can
make
a
final
ruling
on
the
matter,
requiring
him
to
stay
in
the
country
for
the
moment.
Binance,
which
pleaded
guilty
to
three
charges,
including
one
sanctions-related
charge,
has
to
allow
monitors
who
can
report
back
to
the
Department
of
Justice
and
the
Treasury
Department
as
part
of
its
plea
deal,
which
also
saw
it
agree
to
pay
a
massive
$4.3
billion
fine.
Richard
Teng,
a
former
director
at
Binance,
has
taken
over
as
CEO.
