According to Cointelegraph, a court document shows that Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, tried to use his billions of dollars in Binance.US shares as collateral to obtain temporary approval. to return to the United Arab Emirates, but a judge has rejected the request.
Court documents released on January 24 revealed a sealed letter written by CZ’s attorneys to Judge Richard Jones on December 22 last year, showing that CZ offered to pledge his stake in Binance.US as security. The value of the stake, based on a funding round two years ago, was about $4.5 billion, according to the letter.
CZ had hoped to travel to the United Arab Emirates in early January for one to four weeks to visit a friend or family member who was undergoing surgery and hospitalized, but the letter states federal prosecutors did not grant that request. The judge denied the request during a closed hearing on Dec. 29, court records show.
According to previous reports by Zombit, last year the US Department of Justice claimed that CZ was a flight risk and asked the judge to withdraw the bail conditions that originally agreed to CZ's return to the United Arab Emirates. CZ's defense lawyer objected to this. However, the judge agreed with the argument of the US Department of Justice and ruled that CZ Must remain in the United States before being sentenced for violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws.
Under his bail conditions, CZ must stay in the United States but is free to travel and move around the country. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 23, 2024.
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This article Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao once asked the court to use Binance.US shares as security to return to the United Arab Emirates. It first appeared on Zombit.