Ex-Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao must stay in the U.S.

As Reuters reports, former Binance-boss Changpeng "CZ" Zhao will remain in the United States for now. A federal judge decided so on Nov. 27.

Prosecutors claimed previous week that CZ would remain in the United States because of an "unacceptable risk of absconding and failure to appear." The ex-CEO currently lives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They do not have an extradition treaty with the US.

Binance has agreed to pay more than $4.3 billion and has pleaded guilty to violating U.S. money laundering and sanctions laws.

Changpeng Zhao expects a verdict in February 2024 for his role in the crimes of his crypto exchange. The charges range from money laundering and terrorist financing to fraud. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

However, as part of his agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the sentence could be reduced to 18 months. In that case, he would not appeal the sentence, it said. Richard Teng replaced Zhao as CEO of the crypto exchange.