Changpeng Zhao barred from leaving the UAE, reports say

A U.S. district judge in Seattle has barred Changpeng Zhao (CZ) from returning to the UAE — he will remain in the United States until the sentencing hearing on February 23. Bloomberg reports.

On November 27, the court не разрешил CZ to return to the UAE pending the Justice Department’s petition, which seeks to bar the former Binance chief from leaving the country due to flight risk.

On November 21, as part of a deal with the regulator, the exchange paid $4.3 billion, and Zhao agreed to a $50 million penalty and stepped down as CEO.

He posted a $175 million bond to remain free until the verdict is announced on February 23, 2024. However prosecutors urged a travel ban on the former head of the platform leaving the United States, citing flight risk. They noted substantial wealth abroad and limited ties to the country.

The prosecution then argued that the former Binance head had not presented clear and convincing evidence that he would not flee if he returned to the UAE.

On November 23, Zhao’s lawyers challenged the motion to bar Zhao from leaving the United States.

On November 26, the U.S. Department of Justice clarified that until a court decision CZ must remain free but not leave the country due to “managed flight risk”. Unlike the previous motion, prosecutors stated clearly that when the verdict is reached they may insist that Zhao be sentenced to ten years in prison.

On December 7 it was also disclosed that Binance withdrew its application for a license to manage a fund of collective investments in Abu Dhabi. A platform spokesperson told Reuters in an interview that the deal with U.S. authorities did not affect the decision.

Binance BV Investment Management, the entity linked to Binance, filed an application with FSRA in November 2022.

During 2023 the platform withdrew applications for licenses in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Cyprus and the United Kingdom. The company has licenses in several European countries, including France, Италию, Испанию, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania.

In April the Australian regulator revoked the license of the local subsidiary of the organisation.

Earlier this week, a U.S. district judge in Seattle accepted Zhao’s guilty plea to anti-money-laundering charges.

Earlier, analysts named the main winners of Binance’s deal with the U.S. authorities.