Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) had written a letter to the federal judge on December 22 last year, requesting to return to Abu Dhabi for surgery on January 4. He even offered all the shares of Binance US, valued at up to $4.5 billion, as collateral for his return, but his request was rejected.
Background: Binance, still the leading exchange, received a net inflow of £4.6 billion after settling with the US, and BNB surged more than 30%, surpassing the increase in BTC.
Binance and its founder CZ reached the largest settlement agreement in the history of cryptocurrency companies with the US Department of Justice in late November last year. Subsequently, the judge ordered CZ to stay in the US until February 23, 2024, before the verdict, and he could not return to his home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Rejected request to return to UAE for surgery
According to CNBC, in fact, on December 22 last year, CZ’s lawyer wrote another letter to the federal judge, requesting CZ to return to Abu Dhabi on January 4 for a period of one to four weeks. This was to allow CZ to undergo hospitalization, surgery, and subsequent recovery. Although the specific details of the surgery have not been disclosed, it requires general anesthesia, and the post-operative recovery period is two weeks, with at least 6 hours of rest in the hospital.
Not only that, in order to successfully return home for surgery, CZ also mortgaged all his shares in Binance US as collateral. According to the last round of financing by Binance two years ago, the value of these shares is as high as $4.5 billion. The lawyer also promised in the letter that CZ would provide his itinerary and all related additional information to the federal court in the Western District of Washington, and he would report his situation to the relevant officials immediately upon his return.
Lawyer’s letter to Judge Jones
According to court records, Judge Jones held a closed-door hearing on this request on December 29, and the conclusion was to reject CZ’s request.
Prior to this request, the US prosecutor, citing the risk of Zhao Changpeng fleeing, requested the judge to restrict CZ from leaving the country. After more than two weeks of review, the judge believed that CZ should stay in the US until February 23, 2024, as he would face the risk of fleeing if he left the country. Judge Jones wrote at the time:
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