Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the prominent cryptocurrency exchange Binance, faced a legal setback recently when a federal judge dismissed his request to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite his substantial $4.5 billion equity stake in Binance.
The setback comes in the aftermath of Zhao’s guilty plea in a Seattle federal court in November, where he admitted to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. In response to the case, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties. Following his guilty plea, Zhao stepped down as CEO, and his sentencing is scheduled for February 23. Despite these legal developments, Zhao has remained at liberty in the U.S. on a $175 million release bond.
In a bid to secure permission for travel, Zhao’s legal team submitted a letter to Judge Jones, requesting authorization for him to travel to Abu Dhabi from January 4 for a duration of one to four weeks. The purpose of the travel was stated as being present for the hospitalization, surgery, and subsequent recovery of an undisclosed individual, with the individual’s identity redacted in the filed letter. It’s noteworthy that the specifics of the medical procedure were also withheld, and federal prosecutors had not given their consent to Zhao’s travel request.
Judge Jones, in denying the travel request, referenced Zhao’s “enormous wealth” as a potential flight risk. This denial follows a previous rejection of a similar request in December. The judge expressed concern over Zhao’s family residing in the UAE, suggesting a favored status for Zhao in the country. Additionally, Judge Jones noted that Zhao had not convincingly demonstrated that he wouldn’t be likely to flee if allowed to return to the UAE.
Despite the denied travel request, Zhao remains without travel restrictions within the United States, in contrast to similar cases such as that of former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky and former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who faced travel restrictions and arrest, respectively, under different circumstances.
