Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder and former CEO of Binance, requested the United States District Court earlier this week to seal parts of his travel request, citing his child’s privacy.
The court initially allowed Zhao to return to his home in the United Arab Emirates and go back to the U.S. a few weeks before his sentencing in February.
However, following the motion filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, the judge decided to stay his ruling on Zhao’s travel permission, leaving the crypto mogul stuck in the U.S.
Zhao had asked the court for travel permission in the past, but his latest appeal provided more context on his requests.
On Wednesday, Zhao expressed his intent to safeguard his child’s privacy by appealing to the court to seal confidential information and prevent it from public exposure.
“DEFENDANT CHANGPENG ZHAO moves the Court for an order sealing Defendant’s 16| Motion to Seal Submission for Permission to Travel, the Submission to Travel and the Proposed Order related to Motion to Seal Submission for Permission to Travel. The Morion, Submission Order should be scaled because they contain sensitive private medical information regarding Mr. Zhao’s child,” Zhao’s legal team said in the court filing.
On Nov. 21, Zhao pleaded guilty to one charge of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and was released on a $175 million personal recognizance bond, with some cash on escrow and guarantors putting up 5 million worth of assets as collateral.
The act was part of the historic settlement deal, which included Zhao stepping down from his post as the CEO of Binance.
A U.S. court entered an order against Binance and Zhao that would see both pay $2.7 billion and $150 million, respectively, as part of the settlement agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), ending its years-long enforcement action against the exchange and its founder.
“U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has approved the previously announced settlement and entered a consent order of permanent injunction, civil monetary penalty and equitable relief against Changpeng Zhao and his companies Binance Holdings Limited, Binance Holdings (IE) Limited and Binance (Services) Holdings Limited (together, Binance),” CFTC said in a press release earlier this month.
The 46-year-old billionaire, who founded Binance in 2017, currently occupies the 35th spot on the list of billionaires in the world with a net worth of $37.2 billion, which is $24.6 billion higher than his net worth year-to-date (YTD).
