Attorneys representing Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, are pleading with a U.S. court to deny the Justice Department’s motion to prevent Zhao from leaving the United Arab Emirates until he is found guilty of breaking anti-money laundering regulations.
Refrain From Bail
In a document submitted on Thursday, Zhao’s attorneys requested that U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle refrain from reversing the bail terms that a magistrate judge had established on Tuesday, allowing Zhao to depart the country prior to his sentence.
Zhao, a dual citizen of the United Arab Emirates and Canada, resigned as CEO taof Binance on Tuesday following his guilty plea for deliberately allowing the international cryptocurrency exchange to neglect to keep up a robust anti-money laundering policy.
Authorities in the United States claim that Binance violated anti-money laundering and sanctions laws in the country and neglected to disclose over 100,000 suspicious transactions with entities classified as terrorist groups by the government, such as Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The business agreed to pay more than $4.3 billion as part of a plea agreement. Zhao has consented to pay the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission a $150 million fine; but, according to prosecutors’ complaint on Wednesday, he might spend up to 18 months behind bars.
Zhao agreed to be released, but the Justice Department has requested that Jones, by Monday, overturn the order made by U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida to allow Zhao to return home to the United Arab Emirates prior to his sentencing on February 23.
Exceptional Hearing
Source: Cbs News
Because there is no extradition treaty between the United States and the United Arab Emirates because Zhao is a multibillionaire with substantial wealth, the government stated that it might not be possible to obtain his return if he decides not to return to the country for punishment.
However, Zhao’s attorneys contended that by accepting a “substantial” bail package and traveling willingly to the United States to take ownership of his acts, the former CEO had shown he was not a flight risk.
Defense attorneys contended that allowing Zhao to return to the United Arab Emirates would enable him to care for his partner and three children and get them ready for his sentencing.
In a brief response on Friday, the Justice Department stated that it considered Zhao’s decision to be free before sentence on Tuesday’s hearing to be “exceptional” and that it was based solely on the belief that limiting his travel would “manage” the risk of flight he posed.
