US prosecutors want Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ' Zhao to stay in the country pending sentencing, according to a court filing.
In the filing, prosecutors requested that Zao not return to the UAE before his sentencing on February 23, 2024, for the high-profile flight accident.
Under an agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Zhao pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and stepped down as CEO of the exchange. The exchange has been barred from being an executive with Binance for at least three years after appointing an independent monitor, but remains a majority owner of Binance.
Zhao was taken into custody after pleading guilty, but was released on a $175 million bond. Prosecutors argued that the former Binance CEO poses a flight risk as “a non-US citizen who is a United Arab Emirates citizen who has substantial assets outside the United States, has limited ties to the United States, and resides in a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.”
A DOJ spokesman previously told Reuters that Zhao would remain in the Seattle area until Monday evening but would be allowed to return to the United Arab Emirates.
Zhao's departure as CEO of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, comes as part of a settlement that will see the currency exit the US market and pay $4.3 billion in fines for anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. Binance will continue to operate outside the United States, Richard Teng, previously head of the exchange's global regional markets, has taken over as CEO.
“I made a mistake, and I must take responsibility,” Zhao tweeted as he stepped down as CEO.
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