Prosecutors demand Changpeng Zhao surrender all passports before sentencing
The United States Attorney's Office has asked a federal judge to approve additional travel restrictions for former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
In the year In a Feb. 23 hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman asked Judge Brian Shuchida to approve a motion to set conditions for CZ to remain free on bail. Prosecutors have asked that Zhao remain in the mainland US until his April 30 sentencing hearing and give three days' notice of any travel to allow the government to raise objections.
The US Attorney has asked CZ to hand over his Canadian passport and “all current and expired passports and travel documents” to his legal team. When Zhao asked to visit his family before his sentence, he retained his citizenship in the United Arab Emirates – the judge refused.
According to the filing, “Zhau's counsel will object to this request in writing,” the legal team said, adding that the former CEO of Binance may continue to leave the country. In the year In November 2023, CZ pleaded guilty to one felony count of failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. He has been free on $175 million bond since the charges were filed.
Appreciate the support. But he will try to stay off Twitter for a while. https://t.co/ApqEOzXHIa
— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) December 9, 2023
Related: Binance VIP Traders Leaked US Settlement: Report
Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance as part of a $4.3 billion settlement between the crypto exchange and US authorities. On February 23, Judge Richard Jones accepted a $1.8 billion fine and $2.5 billion in damages. CZ, Binance and Binance.US are still facing a civil case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a lawsuit in June 2023.
“This is really a case where the conduct of the company was corrupted by greed,” Judge Jones said at the February 23 hearing.
Following CZ's departure, Regional Markets has replaced former Binance head Richard Teng as CEO. Cointelegraph spoke to Teng in a December 2023 interview, in which the CEO described the exchange as “completely different” compared to the business six years ago.
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