The former CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, has been subject to new travel restrictions, according to a formal request made by the US Attorney’s Office to a federal judge.
U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman requested that Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida grant a motion outlining the terms of CZ’s release on bond in a recent court filing.
Prosecutors have asked CZ to stay in the continental United States until his sentence hearing on April 30. They have also asked him to provide the government three days’ notice of any travel plans so they can oppose.
Authorities Request CZ to Surrender Passport
In addition, CZ’s legal team has been ordered by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to receive his Canadian passport in addition to any other valid or expired passports and travel documents.
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 cryptocurrencycurrency 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.
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