The criminal sentence for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has been postponed to April 30.
A “Notice of Rescheduled Hearing” was filed in Seattle Federal Court on February 12. Zhao was originally scheduled to be sentenced on February 23 after pleading guilty to money laundering charges .
He is expected to face a sentence of up to 18 months in prison, although a November 24 filing from the prosecution suggests he may face a harsher punishment than initially anticipated .
“The defense argued that Mr. Zhao only faced a “short” sentence and had no motive to flee. The reality is that the highest sentence in the Guideline range is up to 18 months, and the United States is free to argue for any sentence up to the statutory maximum of 10 years.”
However, some believe a longer sentence is unlikely.
According to former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark, Zhao could face a sentence of 12–18 months in a minimum security prison under US sentencing guidelines.
However, his legal team will likely ask for no jail time or an alternative sentence and ask for a combination of jail time with home confinement and probation.
Zhao is currently out on $175 million bail and is residing in the United States awaiting sentencing.
On December 29, a US Federal court issued an order banning Zhao from traveling outside the US, denying the former Binance executive's second request to leave Dubai to return to the US ahead of his trial treat.
In a recently unsealed letter to Judge Richard Jones, Zhao's lawyer suggests that the Binance founder had sold all of his equity in Binance.US as security, according to the letter, is valued at about $4.5 billion based on a funding round two years ago.
The judge said CZ could be a flight risk if he was allowed to return home to Dubai, where his family currently lives.
On November 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 US government for allegedly allowing individuals to engage in corruption. Participate in illegal activities of transferring money through exchanges.
He resigned as CEO of the exchange as part of the settlement.
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