CZ’s lawyers argued that he was ready to take responsibility for his actions.
Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao is challenging the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) motion to restrict his travel prior to sentencing, claiming he does not pose a flight risk.
On Nov. 23, CryptoSlate reported that the U.S. Department of Justice took action to prevent CZ from leaving the country, arguing that the Binance founder posed a flight risk due to his vast wealth and family ties in the UAE.
'No flight risk'
However, CZ’s legal team refuted this claim, highlighting that U.S. District Judge Brian A. Tsuchida had previously decided to grant CZ bail and voluntarily allow CZ to return to the UAE.
“As Judge Tsuchida concluded based on the full record, Mr. Cho is not a flight risk, he voluntarily came before this court to accept responsibility and plead guilty, and the government’s motion should be denied.”
They stressed that CZ was committed to taking responsibility for his actions and had no criminal record. In addition, they claimed that his guilty plea underscored his intention to cooperate with the court.
Among other things, the filing stressed that CZ’s voluntary appearance was essential to resolving the government’s case against Binance. The defense further countered the government’s argument regarding the lack of an extradition treaty between the U.S. and the UAE, citing inconsistencies in similar bail cases involving foreign defendants.
'No jail time'
Regarding sentencing, CZ's legal team has indicated that they would prefer not to send their client to jail.
Instead, they believe CZ may be "eligible to serve half his sentence in a non-prison setting, such as home detention or community confinement." The attorneys plan to draw on precedent for similar crimes to support their client's release.
The U.S. government, under federal guidelines for CZ’s case, could have imposed a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison. #币安 #美国