Binance founder Zhao must surrender passports

Binance founder CZ faces trial in April. Now prosecutors want to further restrict his freedom to travel. What's behind this?

On Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office asked a judge to further tighten bail conditions for crypto billionaire Changpeng "CZ" Zhao. The former CEO and founder of Binance is currently out on bail in the United States.

Zhao must now remain in the mainland U.S. until his sentencing on April 30 and must give three days' notice of each trip. He must also hand over his Canadian passport and "all other current and expired passports and travel documents" to his lawyers. Here's what the indictment claims.

In addition to his Canadian passport, Zhao also holds United Arab Emirates citizenship. He wanted to travel there for a family visit before his sentencing and was willing to pledge all his assets to Binance US.

Still, Judge Jones' motion was denied on Dec. 29 because of flight risk. "This is really a case where the ethics of the company have been compromised by greed," said the examining judge at a hearing on Feb. 23.

Late November pleaded Zhao guilty of failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. The criminal conviction was recently postponed from Feb. 23 to April 30.

He resigned as CEO of Binance as part of a $4.3 billion settlement between the crypto exchange and U.S. authorities. However, Zhao and Binance are still facing a civil suit with the SEC.

According to former SEC employee John Reed Stark Zhao could face a 12- to 18-month prison sentence in the United States because of U.S. sentencing guidelines, despite his willingness to cooperate.