Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s criminal sentencing for money laundering has been postponed until April 30. This is reported by CNBC. A reason for the two-month delay was not disclosed. Zhao is currently free in the United States on $175 million bail. He actually lives in the United Arab Emirates, but he was not allowed to leave there due to the risk of absconding.
Zhao pleaded guilty on November 21 to failing to develop an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. As part of this admission, he resigned as CEO and agreed to pay a $50 million fine. Now all that remains to be determined is whether CZ has to go to prison or not. According to former SEC employee John Reed Stark, under U.S. sentencing guidelines, Zhao could face 12 to 18 months in prison. However, his legal team is unlikely to ask for a prison sentence or an alternative sentence of house arrest and probation. Previously, Binance offered to pay $4.3 billion in fines and compensation.
This was part of the guilty plea to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. “Binance enabled illegal actors to freely transact, supporting activities ranging from child sexual abuse to illegal drugs to terrorism,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said after the company and Zhao pleaded guilty. In December, Zhao wanted to travel to the UAE, at least temporarily, because of the hospitalization of someone in his private life. As security for his return, he offered to deposit his Binance capital. The responsible judge, Jones, rejected this request.
Image: stlegat
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