by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
FEDERAL COURT, Dec 6 – After Changpeng Zhao or CZ of Binance pled guilty to money laundering and sanctions violations, a Federal Magistrate ruled that he could travel back to the United Arab Emirates until his sentencing in February 2024.
The US Attorney's Office said it would appeal to the assigned District Judge, and on November 22 it did. It notes that
"the United States has no extradition treaty with the UAE. If Zhao decided he would not return for his sentencing, the government would not be able to secure his return.. Zhao is a multi-billionaire. The government believes that the vast majority of that wealth is held overseas and Zhao is believed to have hundreds of millions of dollars in accessible cryptocurrency. Zhao could live on that wealth in the UAE indefinitely." Full memo on Patreon here.
Two people, still undisclosed, have agreed to forfeit property if CZ were to not return.
On December 6, while still leaving in place a stay of the Magistrate Judge's order which would allow CZ to go to the UAE until sentencing, Chief Judge Richard A. Jones approved the guilty plea and confirmed the sentencing date.
Order on Patreon here.
But what about the UAE - and the suretors' ID? We'll have more on this.
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