Prosecutors Says Binance’s Changpeng Zhao Is “Serious Flight Risk,” Want Him To Remain In US Until February Sentencing

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is a ”serious flight risk” and cannot be allowed to leave the U.S. before he is sentenced in February, federal prosecutors said in a court filing on Wednesday.

“There is no combination of conditions sufficient to protect against the risk of flight and ensure Zhao’s return from the UAE for sentencing,” the prosecutors said in the filing, referring to the United Arab Emirates, where Zhao resides.

Zhao is permitted to leave the U.S. under the terms of his current bond agreement. He has already put up $15 million in a trust account, signed a $175 million personal recognizance bond, and found guarantors.

Prosecutors Not Confident That the Former Binance CEO Will Return for Sentencing

The filing argued that Zhao “cannot establish by clear and convincing evidence that he is not likely to flee if he is allowed to return to the UAE given his significant assets, his strong ties to the UAE, and the government’s inability to extradite him from the UAE.“

During a hearing yesterday, Zhao’s attorneys argued that forcing him to stay in the U.S. prior to the sentencing would be a hardship for him and his family.

The attorneys said that Zhao’s wife and children cannot relocate to the U.S. during the months between yesterday’s hearing and the upcoming sentencing in February.

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Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchia asked prosecutors if Zhao really posed a serious flight since he voluntarily came to the U.S. to plead guilty. A prosecutor responded by stating that there is a difference between voluntarily coming to the U.S. to plead guilty and doing so to face potential prison time.

Zhao is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23 and could be jailed for more than a year.

The former Binance executive will remain in the U.S. until at least Nov. 27. He will be free to return to the UAE if District Judge Richard Jones chooses not to review the Department of Justice’s filing by 5:00 pm Pacific Time on that day. He must though return to the U.S. by Feb. 10.

Binance on Monday agreed to pay a $4.3 billion penalty to settle criminal charges against it in the US. Zhao agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $50 million fine.

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