Judge Bars Former Binance CEO From Leaving US as the Court Weighs Government’s Request

Judge Bars Former Binance CEO From Leaving US as the Court Weighs Government's Motion

A federal judge has barred former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) from leaving the U.S. until the court has made a decision on the U.S. government’s motion to prevent his return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before sentencing. The government filed the motion in response to a release order issued by a magistrate judge, granting the former Binance chief permission to go back to the UAE while awaiting sentencing.

CZ Cannot Leave the U.S. for Now

A federal judge has issued an order restricting former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) from leaving the U.S. until the court determines whether to approve the government’s motion to force the ex-Binance boss to stay in the U.S. until sentencing.

“This matter comes before the Court upon the United States’ motion for review of Magistrate Judge’s ruling on defendant [CZ]’s presentencing travel restrictions,” states the order signed by District Judge Richard A. Jones on Monday. “Having considered the briefing, and the files and pleadings herein, the Court determines it will review the decision of Magistrate Judge Brian A. Tsuchida permitting Defendant to return to the United Arab Emirates pending sentencing pursuant to the conditions of his appearance bond.” The order continues:

It is ordered that the condition permitting Defendant to return to the UAE pending sentencing is STAYED until such time as this Court resolves the government’s motion for review.

Last week, Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and stepped down as the CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The government also filed a parallel information against Binance for failing to comply with provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act and U.S. sanctions law.

As part of the settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Treasury Department, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Binance and Zhao will pay a historic sum of more than $4.3 billion.

Magistrate Judge Tsuchida issued a release order last week with bail conditions, allowing the former Binance chief to return to the UAE while awaiting sentencing. However, the U.S. government then filed a motion to prevent Zhao from returning home before sentencing. In response, CZ has asked the court to reject the government’s motion, contending that Judge Tsuchida determined he poses no flight risk, having voluntarily appeared before the court to take responsibility and plead guilty.

The U.S. government states in its motion that the former Binance chief executive may face up to 18 months in prison. Under Magistrate Judge Tsuchina’s order, the bail conditions require that CZ “post a $175 million personal recognizance bond, secured by two guarantors with cash pledges of $100,000 and $250,000, respectively, and a third guarantor with real property located in Los Angeles, California, valued at more than $5 million,” his legal team described.

Do you think CZ should be able to leave the U.S. and return home to the UAE while waiting for sentencing? Let us know in the comments section below.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/avGtFTn

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

L2 Crypto Project Blast Achieves $660M TVL Amid Mockery for Key Developer Recruitment

Image
Recent data reveals that Blast, the new layer two (L2) blockchain platform, has amassed a significant $660 million in value within its decentralized finance (defi) protocol. Concurrently, while accumulating a variety of crypto assets, the initiative has commenced a search for experienced senior blockchain developers. While Amassing $660M, L2 Blast Project Searches for Developers In recent times, Blast has emerged as a focal point of interest. This project, conceptualized by Pacman , the mind behind the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Blur, has rapidly gained traction. Within a span of less than a week, the platform’s total value locked (TVL) soared to approximately $400 million. Concurrently, Blast faced allegations of resembling a Ponzi scheme. During this period, Paradigm, a principal investor in the project, admitted that the team had overstepped in certain aspects of communication and implementation. Pacman has also countered the Ponzi scheme allegations and further cl
Read more

Harsh Laws Make Bitcoin Holders Consider Renunciation or Dual Citizenship

Image
As digital currencies become a mainstay in society, a great number of governments have enforced strict tax guidelines, severe money transmission rules, and tough regulations. Because of a few nation-states’ harsh rules against cryptos, there are individuals who plan to renounce their citizenship in order to become stateless. Some people will also attempt to get double-citizenship, as both of these acts may help sovereign individuals avoid government intrusion and theft. Also Read: As FATF Regulations Galvanize, Crypto Mixing Applications Are Targeted A Cryptocurrency Advocate’s Quest for Financial Sovereignty May Involve Hard Choices It’s been close to 11 years since the inception of Bitcoin and during the last few years government agencies and law enforcement have been cracking down on digital currency holders. In certain areas around the world, a few countries have extremely difficult crypto laws and stringent capital gains taxes. Countries like the U.S. have imposed strict regul
Read more

2021 Bitcoin Price Predictions: Analysts Forecast BTC Values Will Range Between Zero to $600K

Image
As bitcoin has touched new price highs on Thursday nearing the $50k handle, people have been curious as to where the price will go in the future. Meanwhile, despite the gains so far, a number of luminaries, analysts, executives, and proponents from the crypto space believe the leading crypto asset will reach between $60k to six-digits this year. Mike Novogratz Predicts $100K Bitcoin: ‘Other CFOs and CEOs Are Saying, What Should We Be Doing?’ Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention has gained mass appeal in recent times as the leading digital asset bitcoin ( BTC ) has reached its highest value ever in 2021. On Thursday morning (EST), BTC spiked to an all-time high (ATH) at $48,697 per unit. Earlier in the morning at around 2 a.m., bitcoin was exchanging hands for $44,485 and saw an 8.98% increase since then. At the time of publication, at 6:30 p.m. (EST) on February 11, 2021, bitcoin (BTC) is swapping for $47,821 per coin. With BTC so close to the $50k mark, people have been forecasting
Read more