Judge refused to let Binance founder Zhao travel to UAE despite his offer to use equity as security (2024)

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Judge refused to let Binance founder Zhao travel to UAE despite his offer to use equity as security? ›

The judge said Zhao's “enormous wealth” made him a significant flight risk. “The defendant has enormous wealth and property abroad, and no ties to the United States. His family resides in the UAE and it appears that he has favored status in the UAE,” Jones wrote in a six-page order on Dec.

The founder of the world's largest crypto exchange has been sentenced to four months in prison in the US for allowing criminals to launder money on his platform. Changpeng Zhao resigned from Binance in November and pleaded guilty to violating US money laundering laws.

– The US court has ordered former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) to stay in the US until sentencing in February 2024. CZ Binance is not allowed to leave the US.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been slapped with a new class-action lawsuit in Canada, with plaintiffs alleging that the firm has violated local securities laws.

33 billion USD (2024)

Changpeng Zhao / Net worth

SEATTLE, April 30 (Reuters) - Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating U.S. laws against money laundering at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Still, Zhao will enter the history books as the richest person ever to do time in US federal lockup since his ownership of Binance — and an estimated $43 billion personal fortune tied to it — remain intact. His wealth is likely to grow even bigger as Binance's business accelerates amid crypto's latest bull run.

Zhao met his wife Yang Weiqing in 1999 and they married in 2003. They have two children.

In cooperation with CZ-USA, the production of the first CZ firearms was launched in Kansas City, Kansas. These include selected models of the successful CZ P-10 series of pistols. Other versions were added in the same year, namely CZ P-10 F (full-size), CZ P-10 SC (semicompact) and CZ P-10 S (subcompact).

Zhao's departure as CEO will not be a complete separation from Binance. The company's founder will remain its majority shareholder, and a resource for “consultation on historical areas of the business,” according to a Binance press statement.

Why did the USA ban Binance? ›

“Binance's and Zhao's willful violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws threatened the U.S. financial system and our national security, and each of them has now pleaded guilty. Make no mistake: when you place profits over compliance with the law, you will answer for your crimes in the United States.”

Charges against Binance

The CFTC brought civil proceedings against Binance in March 2023 for failing to put in place an anti-money laundering program that would have identified and stopped dirty money transactions such as the financing of terrorism and illicit drug sales.

Depending on the reason for the shutdown, Binance could face legal actions, asset freezes, or hacking attempts that could jeopardize the security and availability of the funds. Users who store their crypto assets on Binance would risk losing their money or having to wait for a long time to get it back.

For the third year running, Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Binance, is crypto's wealthiest person.

There are 88,200 crypto millionaires worldwide. 40,500 of these millionaires have amassed their fortune in Bitcoin (BTC). The number of global crypto owners reached 580 million by the end of 2023, according to Crypto.com.

Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high-frequency trading software. Binance was initially based in China, then moved to Japan shortly before the Chinese government restricted cryptocurrency companies.

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison after pleading guilty last year to charges that he failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.

Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, arrives at federal court in Seattle, Washington, April 30, 2024. Binance's billionaire founder Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison on Tuesday, after pleading guilty to charges of enabling money laundering at his crypto exchange.

Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison in a Seattle courthouse on Tuesday, the AP reported. 1. Last November, Zhao stepped down as the chief executive of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange as he pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is believed to own the most bitcoins, with estimates suggesting over 1 million BTC mined in the early days of the network.