Binance Founder Ordered to Stay in US Until His Sentence Hearing

After the pushback by Binance founder and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao to convince Judge Richard Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle to let him return to his family in the United Arab Emirates, he has finally been ordered to stay in the US until his February sentencing.

Prosecutors Win Argument Over Binance Founder

The crypto ecosystem was rattled about this time last week when the Binance Founder pleaded guilty to violating US Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws. The “Guilty” came alongside the agreement to a historic $4.3 billion settlement fee by the trading platform to end the probe of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) into its alleged regulatory violations. 

The plea marked the beginning of what seemed like a short vicious cycle for CZ as US prosecutors demanded that he stay in the US pending his sentencing. The basis for the DOJ to take this position was because of CZ’s close ties to the United Arab Emirates and why, if he chooses to abscond, his extradition may not be possible. 

In his defense, his lawyers argued that having legitimately pled guilty and understanding the risks at hand, it serves the interest of fair proceeding to permit him to go see his family as the outcome of the February sentencing remains unknown. The order from Judge Jones is proof the prosecutors won.

For the offense he pleaded guilty to, there are different permutations as to the possible number of years he could serve with the majority of consensus being about 10 years. While no one knows the basis for the plea deal he took, there are also permutations that this might be factored into the final judgment pronouncement.

Meanwhile, Binance investors filed a lawsuit against footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, alleging to dupe customers into buying products despite being aware of products as unregistered securities. Other celebrity defendants are National Basketball Association star Jimmy Butler and YouTube influencers Graham Stephan and Ben Armstrong.

Binance Forging Ahead

After his unforeseen resignation, the exchange named Richard Teng as the new CEO, and riding on his decades of experience, he is trying to stir the platform on a better compliance path.

Despite the huge settlement, Binance is expected to work with government auditors for a while to ensure it is now adhering to the basic tenets confined in the agreement deal. Besides this, Richard Teng is faced with regaining customer and investor trust as he looks to pilot the trading platform to become a corporate financial firm with a transparent board.

Amidst this turmoil, Binance Exchange has seen a slump in its trading volume but has managed to keep its dominance as the biggest crypto platform in the world.