A U.S. judge has denied a request by Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, to travel to the United Arab Emirates. This decision comes despite Zhao’s offer to post his $4.5 billion equity in Binance US as security for his return.
The court filing revealed that in December 2023, Zhao’s legal team requested permission for him to travel to the UAE to attend to the “hospitalization and surgery” of an unnamed individual in Abu Dhabi.
Zhao proposed to provide substantial additional property and financial assets as security, including his Binance US equity, valued at around $4.5 billion from the last fundraising round two years ago.
This situation follows Zhao’s guilty plea in November 2023 to charges of failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at the cryptocurrency exchange. Subsequent to his plea, he agreed to step down as CEO of Binance as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Zhao is facing a potential prison sentence of 10 to 18 months under federal guidelines. Additionally, as a part of the settlement, Binance was required to exit the U.S. market and pay a substantial fine of $4.3 billion for violations related to anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions.
The decision to restrict Zhao’s travel was made by a federal judge in Seattle, citing Zhao’s “enormous wealth and property abroad” and minimal ties to the United States as reasons. Prosecutors had argued that Zhao, a non-U.S. but UAE citizen with significant assets outside the U.S. and residing in a country without an extradition treaty with the U.S., posed a considerable flight risk.
This ruling signifies a crucial moment in the ongoing legal proceedings involving one of the most prominent figures in the cryptocurrency world. It highlights the increasing scrutiny and regulatory measures being imposed on the cryptocurrency industry, especially concerning compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.