Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao Released on $175M Bail
- Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has been released on a $175 million bail bond by a federal court.
- Zhao is expected to leave for Dubai, and currently, no extradition request exists between the two nations.
- He will have to return to the United States 14 days prior to his sentencing on February 23, 2024.
- Binance also pleaded guilty to the charges imposed by the DoJ and paid around $4 billion to the agency.
The co-founder and former chief executive of Binance, the world’s largest digital asset trading platform by market volume, has been released on a $175 million bail bond and has agreed to return to the United States 14 days prior to his sentencing on February 23, 2024. It is possible that the crypto entrepreneur might return to Dubai.
As per the official document, there were two guarantors as well who paid exactly $250,000 and $100,000, respectively. The Binance executive has been released, and as per traditional release bond requirements, he has promised not to harass any judicial employee or others related to the case. It is crucial to note that no request for extradition currently exists between the United States and the United Arab Emirates, and Zhao might go to Dubai on his bail.
It’s interesting that the Department of Justice (DoJ) charged Binance and its CEO, and both of them decided to enter guilty pleas under US law. The leading exchange paid $4 billion to the regulatory agency so that it would drop all the charges on the crypto trading platform. Meanwhile, Zhao announced that he would no longer serve as the CEO of the firm and appointed a new CEO.
The DOJ accused Zhao and other Binance executives of breaking US economic sanctions and the Bank Secrecy Act by implementing lax KYC and AML rules. Additionally, as per a report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), another executive at the exchange, Samuel Lim, is also facing DoJ charges.
Richard Teng, Binance’s head of regional markets outside of the US, has been named as the new CEO of the crypto exchange. In a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), the executive said, “I have accepted this role so that we can continue to meet and exceed the expectations of stakeholders while achieving our core mission, the freedom of money,” while adding:
“To ensure a bright future, I intend to use everything I’ve learned over the past three decades of financial services and regulatory experience to guide our remarkable, innovative, and committed team.”
Teng also has plans to collaborate with regulators in the US and around the world “to uphold high standards globally that foster innovation while providing important consumer protections.”
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
