(New York) Former boss of cryptocurrency giant Binance, Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws, will have to temporarily stay in the United States while awaiting a court decision on a return to the United Arab Emirates , he asks.
Changpeng Zhao was not authorized to return to this Gulf state on Monday, according to the decision of a federal judge in Seattle that AFP was able to consult.
This decision is temporary: “a judge must still decide whether (Changpeng) Zhao will have to remain in the country while awaiting his conviction for violating anti-money laundering requirements,” details the Wall Street Journal.
“The judgment is scheduled for the end of February,” the newspaper said.
Changpeng Zhao, former general manager of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, resigned as part of an agreement announced last Tuesday with the American authorities.
He agreed to plead guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws.
Changpeng Zhao, 46, faces several years in prison. His sentence will be pronounced at a later date.
“I made mistakes and I must take responsibility for them,” he wrote on his X account.
He will be replaced at the head of Binance by Richard Teng, who was until now responsible for regional markets.
As part of an overall agreement, Binance will also plead guilty to violations of US law.
The company agreed to pay fines of $3.4 billion and $968 million to two agencies under the US Treasury, the Department of Finance said.
In addition, the platform was taken to court this year by the two main financial market regulatory agencies, the SEC and the CFTC.
The latter criticizes Binance in particular for not having taken sufficient measures to prevent money laundering. Customers could access the platform without their identity having been previously verified.
According to investigations by two Treasury agencies, Binance did not take measures to prevent transactions carried out by movements such as the Islamic State group, Al-Qaeda or the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
