Criminal sentencing of Binance founder CZ postponed to late April

The
criminal
sentencing
of


Binance
founder

Changpeng
Zhao
on
a

money
laundering
rule
charge
has
been
postponed
until
April
30,
according
to
a
notice
Monday
in
Seattle
federal
court.

That
docket
entry
did
not
explain
what
would
be
a
two-month
delay
in
sentencing
Zhao,
a
Canadian
national
widely
known
as
“CZ”
who
is
free
on
a
$175
million
release
bond
in
the
United
States.

Zhao’s
lawyer,
William
Burck,
declined
to
comment
when
asked
about
the
postponement.
CNBC
has
asked
the
Department
of
Justice
about
the
delay.

Federal
sentencing
guidelines
suggest
a
maximum
sentence
of
18
months
in
prison
for
Zhao,
but

prosecutors
reportedly
have
considered
asking
for
a
harsher
sentence.

Zhao
pleaded
guilty
on
Nov.
21
to
a
charge
of
failure
to
maintain
an
effective
anti-money
laundering
program
at
Binance,
the
world’s
largest
cryptocurrency
exchange.
As
part
of
that
plea,
he
agreed
to
step
down
as
Binance’s
chief
executive
officer
and
to
pay
a
$50
million
fine.

Binance
at
the
same
time
agreed
to
pay
$4.3
billion
in
fines
and
restitution
as
part
of
its
guilty
plea
to
conspiracy
to
conduct
an
unlicensed
money-transmitting
business,
conducting
such
a
business
and
violating
the
International
Emergency
Economic
Powers
Act.

“Binance
was
allowing
illicit
actors
to
transact
freely,
supporting
activities
from
child
sexual
abuse
to
illegal
narcotics
to
terrorism,”
Treasury
Secretary
Janet
Yellen
when
the
company
and
Zhao
pleaded
guilty.

Zhao
originally
was
scheduled
to
be
sentenced
on
Feb.
23.

The
judge
in
Zhao’s
case
in
early
December
rejected
his
request
to
be
able
to
travel
to
his
home
in
the
United
Arab
Emirates
before
he
is
sentenced.

U.S.
District
Judge
Richard
Jones
cited
Zhao’s
“enormous
wealth”
and
lack
of
ties
to
the
United
States
in
finding
he
was
a
flight
risk.

Jones
in
late
December
rejected
another
bid
by
Zhao
to
travel
to
the
U.A.E.
Zhao
in
his
new
application
had
said
he
wanted
to
travel
home
for
the
“hospitalization
and
surgery”
of
a
person
in
his
life.

He
had
offered
to
post
his
equity
in
Binance
as
security
for
his
return.