A federal judge has issued an order preventing Changpeng Zhao, the ex-CEO of Binance, from leaving the United States until his sentencing. During a hearing on December 29 at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, Judge Richard Jones denied Zhao's request to travel abroad. The specifics of Zhao's second request for travel have been kept confidential by the court, with his legal team mentioning it pertains to "medical information about Mr. Zhao's children."
Previously, on December 7, Judge Jones had mandated Zhao to stay in the U.S., following his request for travel authorization, citing concerns that Zhao might flee to Dubai, where his family resides. Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to a felony in connection with a $4.3 billion agreement with U.S. authorities, is awaiting sentencing in February. He faces a potential prison term of up to 18 months.
Currently, Zhao is out on bail for $175 million but is restricted from international travel. In a similar case, Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius, was arrested for allegedly misleading users. He was later released on a $40 million bail.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, was initially allowed to stay at his parents' home in California after his extradition to the U.S. in 2022. However, he was later taken into custody due to allegations of witness tampering.
The details of the medical information related to Zhao's children, which his lawyers submitted to the court, remain undisclosed. Zhao is reported to have three children with He Yi, a former talk show host and co-founder of Binance.
