The U.S. Attorney’s Office has asked a federal judge to approve additional travel restrictions for former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao “CZ.”
In a Feb. 23 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman asked Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida to grant a motion to specify the conditions for CZ's release on bail. Prosecutors asked that Zhao stay in the continental United States until his sentencing hearing on April 30 and give three days' notice of any travel to allow the government to raise objections.
The U.S. Attorney's Office asked CZ to turn over his Canadian passport and "all other valid and expired passports and travel documents" to his legal team. Zhao, who also holds United Arab Emirates citizenship, had requested to travel to the Emirates to visit family before sentencing, but the judge denied the motion.
According to the filing, “Zhao’s attorneys opposed the written motion,” suggesting that his legal team may continue to seek ways to have the former Binance CEO leave the country. In November 2023, CZ pleaded guilty to one felony count for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. He remains free on $175 million bail since the indictment was filed. Zhao resigned as CEO of Binance as part of a $4.3 billion deal between the cryptocurrency exchange and U.S. authorities. On February 23, Judge Richard Jones accepted a $1.8 billion fine and $2.5 billion in forfeitures. CZ, Binance, and Binance.US still face a civil lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which was filed in June 2023.
"This is truly a case where corporate ethics were compromised by greed," Judge Jones said at the Feb. 23 hearing.
Following CZ’s departure, former Binance regional market director Richard Teng took over as CEO. Cointelegraph caught up with Teng in a December 2023 interview, in which the CEO said the exchange was “completely different” compared to the business six years ago.
