A U.S. judge ruled that Binance Changpeng Zhao must remain in the United States until next year's sentencing
Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao
On the evening of December 7, local time, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao must stay in the United States before being sentenced and cannot return to his residence in the United Arab Emirates.
Last month, Binance and Changpeng Zhao reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to allow Binance to continue operations. Binance pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering, unlicensed money transfers, and sanctions violations, and will pay a $4.3 billion fine, while Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws and agreed to pay a $50 million fine, resign as CEO, and face a sentencing hearing on February 23, 2024.
After pleading guilty, Changpeng Zhao was released on $175 million bail and was allowed to return to the UAE while on bail, and the U.S. attorney asked the judge to reverse the decision to allow Changpeng Zhao to return to the UAE.
Foreign media reported that prosecutors believe that Changpeng Zhao is at risk of absconding because he has huge assets, his children and partner live in the United Arab Emirates, and there is no extradition treaty between the UAE and the United States, and the US government will not be able to extradite him in the future. Thus, Judge Richard Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The judge noted that Changpeng Zhao could face up to 18 months in prison, but he may only need to serve 10 months.
Kwon Do-hyung, the developer of LUNA Coin accused of fraud, may be extradited to the United States
Notably, another crypto tycoon, Do Kwon, may be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges.
Do Kwon, the main developer of LUNA coin
On December 7, Montenegro judicial officials revealed to foreign media that they planned to send Kwon Do-hyung to the United States instead of South Korea to face criminal charges.
In May 2022, the dollar-pegged stablecoin TerraUSD and its sister token, Terra (LUNA), both collapsed. Subsequently, Kwon Do-hyung, the main developer of LUNA Coin and the founder of blockchain platform Terraform Labs, was accused of fraud by investors. In September of the same year, a South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for Kwon Do-hyung, and the South Korean Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office applied to Interpol for a red notice to assist in the pursuit.
On March 23 this year, Kwon was arrested in Montenegro, and then the U.S. federal court in Manhattan announced eight criminal charges against Kwon Do-hyung, including fraud.