According to CNBC, the Seattle federal court postponed the decision on the sentencing of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao to the end of April 2024.
In the latest statement from the Seattle federal court, it was stated that the sentencing decision against CZ due to money laundering rules charges was postponed to April 30.
The reason for this postponement was not stated in the statement.
While CNBC based its news on Seattle federal court records, CZ's lawyer, William Burck, declined to answer questions about the postponement or comment on the issue.
The hearing on money laundering charges against CZ was expected to be held at the end of February and the sentence to be given to CZ was expected to be determined.
However, the sentencing hearing was postponed to April 30. It is stated that the reason behind this is that prosecutors are considering demanding more punishment.
US Federal criminal laws actually stipulate that CZ can be sentenced to a maximum of 18 months in prison for the crime he is charged with, but it is stated that prosecutors are considering asking for a higher sentence.
As you may remember, the main events that marked 2023 were undoubtedly the filing of a lawsuit against Binance by US institutions and Binance reaching an agreement with the US.
In this context, Binance and its former CEO CZ accepted the accusations made against them and paid a penalty of 50 million dollars.
Bitcoin exchange Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion, which would be the largest fine in history.
In addition, the court did not allow CZ to go to Dubai, where he resides and where he has a residence permit, and to leave the USA. This postponement decision means that CZ will not be able to travel outside the USA until the end of April.