Binance founder CZ’s sentencing date postponed to late April
Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao was originally due to be sentenced on Feb. 23. He faces 18 months in prison over money laundering charges.
The “notice of rescheduled hearing” was filed in a Seattle Federal Court on Feb. 12. Zhao was originally due to be sentenced on Feb. 23 after pleading guilty to money laundering charges. He is expected to face up to 18 months in prison.
However, a Nov. 24 filing by the prosecution indicated that he may face a harsher punishment than initially expected.
“The defense claims that Mr. Zhao faces merely a “brief” sentence and has no incentive to flee. The reality is that the top-end of the Guidelines range may be as high as 18 months, and the United States is free to argue for any sentence up to the statutory maximum of ten years.”
According to former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official John Reed Stark, Zhao could face a 12–18 month sentence at a minimum security prison under U.S. sentencing guidelines.
However, his legal team will likely ask for no jail time or an alternative sentence and request to combine prison time with home detention and probation.
Zhao is currently out on bail on a $175 million bond and is residing in the U.S. awaiting his sentencing.
On Dec. 29, 2023, a U.S. federal court ordered that Zhao be barred from traveling outside the U.S., denying the former Binance executive’s second request to leave for Dubai ahead of his trial.
In a recently unsealed letter to Judge Richard Jones, lawyers for Zhao showed that the Binance founder had offered up all of his equity in Binance.US as security, which, according to the letter, was valued at around $4.5 billion based on a funding round two years ago.
The judge suggested CZ could be a flight risk if he were allowed to travel to his home in Dubai, where his family currently resides.
On Nov. 21, Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program at Binance and reached a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. government for allegedly allowing individuals engaged in illicit activities to transfer funds through the exchange.
He stepped down as the CEO of the crypto exchange as part of the settlement.
