The prosecutors have requested that CZ remain in the continental United States until his sentencing hearing on April 30, and that he submit a three-day notice of any travel plans so that the government might make objections.
Authorities Ask CZ to Surrender Passport
Furthermore, the US Attorney’s Office has ordered that CZ submit his Canadian passport, as well as any other current and expired passports and travel documents, to his legal representative.
CZ is a citizen of the United Arab Emirates, and before the sentence, he had asked for permission to see his family there. The judge, however, turned down this motion.
The legal team for CZ has stated that they disagree with the motion as it is written and that they plan to look into other options that might enable him to leave the country.
The CEO of the cryptocurrency had already entered a guilty plea in November 2023 to a single felony count pertaining to Binance’s inability to keep up a successful anti-money laundering program.
Since then, he has been released from custody on a $175 million bond.
Zhao resigned as CEO in November after entering a guilty plea to a charge of money laundering and agreeing to pay a punishment of $50 million.
In addition, Binance as a business reached settlements with the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Justice Department, the Treasury Department, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, all of which required it to pay heavy fines totaling $4.3 billion.
Judge Richard Jones approved the $1.8 billion fine and $2.5 billion forfeiture as part of this settlement on February 23.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, however, continues to pursue a legal case against CZ, Binance, and Binance.US. The lawsuit was first filed in June 2023.
Richard Teng, a former executive in charge of Binance’s regional markets, took over as CEO when CZ left.
Binance Pushes for Global Expansion
A joint venture cryptocurrency exchange between Binance and Gulf Innova, a division of Gulf Energy Development, was revealed by Binance last month.
With Thai baht trading pairs, Binance Thailand, also known as Binance TH, offers a platform for digital asset exchange services.
Under the careful eye of Thailand’s SEC, it has also merged with regional banks in Thailand and formed a cooperation with Binance Kazakhstan for brokerage services.
By working with INTERPOL, the exchange has also taken certain steps to strengthen international cybersecurity efforts.
Binance recently hosted over 30 INTERPOL officers for a half-day virtual workshop on critical subjects concerning cryptocurrency investigations and cyber policing in the quickly developing Web3 domain.
